There is an old story about a king who asked his wisest advisors for a message that would be true in every circumstance.
He wanted something that would comfort him in times of sorrow and humble him in times of triumph.
After much thought, they presented him with a simple ring.
Inscribed upon it were four words:
This too shall pass.
When he suffered, he looked at the ring and remembered that his pain would not last forever.
When he celebrated, he looked at the ring and remembered that even his greatest victories were temporary.
Years later, I came to realize that the wisdom of those words reaches deeper than most people imagine.
I once hated.
Not a little.
I carried resentment for years.
I felt justified.
I wanted revenge.
I wanted the people who hurt me to feel the pain they had caused.
At the time, I believed my hatred made me stronger.
I was wrong.
Hatred did not strengthen me.
It weakened me.
It distorted my perception.
It clouded my reasoning.
It consumed my attention.
It drained my life.
The strange thing about hatred is that it convinces us we are holding it.
When in reality…
It is holding us.
Which eventually led me to a question:
If hatred could heal your pain, wouldn’t you be healed by now?
The years taught me something I could not see when I was younger.
Hatred does not heal the wound.
It keeps reopening it.
It keeps us connected to the very thing we long to be free from.
And while we carry it, life continues to pass by.
There is another lesson hidden within the king’s ring.
Not only will the pain pass.
Not only will the anger pass.
Not only will the disappointment pass.
But even the stories we tell ourselves about what happened will eventually pass.
So why carry what is already on its way out?
You can never truly know what is in another person’s mind.
But you can know what is in your own.
And one day I realized I no longer wished to carry the burden.
Not because what happened was acceptable.
Not because the pain was not real.
But because my life was worth more than my resentment.
This too shall pass.
Freedom is your natural state.
One Light Amongst Many 
