Do you remember the days when life was simple? In kindergarten, we would sing beloved songs, like “This Land is Your Land.” We would play “tag,” draw houses, “Mommy” and “Daddy,” apples… You loved your teachers—you were the one who always received little star stickers. Everyone in your class was your best friend, even if you didn’t know their name. What happened? Well, you started growing up.
Come middle school, you notice friendships start failing, teachers aren’t so nice, you can’t receive a star sticker for drawing a smiley face… and don’t even get me started on high school! You feel like everyone is judging you, all your teachers hate you, that you will never get asked out to Homecoming… in one word, DRAMA.
But then you enter adulthood. And that’s a whole other thing. There’s college, finding a job to pay your tuition, finding a career, your first apartment, marriage, a house, kids, clothes, food, bills, retirement… Does it have to be this complicated?
It’s life. There’s no way of getting around it. You’re going to reach times of stress, or worry, when your whole world seems to start falling apart. But, even though it may not seem like it, you have a choice: break down…or find a way to get through it.
Here’s something my mother always says, and which I learned is an old Bible verse: “This too shall pass.” Some great words of wisdom to live by. Nothing lasts forever—life is too short to hold on to the past, to stress out over every little thing. But that also doesn’t mean you should get yourself into all sorts of messes and wait for them to pass. It means to take a deep breath, relax, take care of the problem as best you can, forgive yourself, forgive others… and move on. Now, I can’t put “forget” into that list because, no matter what we do, a shred of that memory, painful or joyful, will always live on.
And, if you really need relaxation and you just can’t get there, think back to your childhood. Remember how your golden retriever used to lick your face until you were dripping with its slobber. Remember those piggyback rides with your dad. Remember your first day of school, when you were jumping around in the car with excitement.
Or, perhaps find a memory closer in time. Think about your high school or college education. Think about when you met your true love. Think about the day your first child was born. Think about how your mom or dad watched their grandchildren with serenity.
Yes, it’s true: times aren’t nearly as simple as they were back then, and there’s no way to change that. What you can change is how you get through those tough times, what you will do in the future. So, take a deep breath and relax… because “this too shall pass.”
