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Once upon a long long time ago, there lived a healthy,
wealthy and happy king.
This king knew the importance of keeping his people happy
and consequently he was revered by them for his fair
dealings and honesty.
The king loved his role and he loved to impress upon his
people the need for peace and harmony.
Strangely enough, even with such a great lifestyle, the
king had a deep fear that something would go wrong, he knew
it was pointless to think about it for he had seen in his
own life that when he thought about something for too long
it would inevitably happen.
He tried hard not to think about his fear that all would go
drastically wrong one day, but no matter how hard he tried
he couldn't seem to stop it from eating away at him.
Finally he decided to do something about it, he called his
wisest counsel and told them he wanted to be sure that if
he was ever in a dead-end situation when he just couldn't
see a way out, he would have a key that would give him the
answer.
He asked his counsel to go to all known lands and find a
sage that could give this answer.
He gave them one of his rings and said, "when you find the
answer, make sure no one sees it and place it under the
stone in this ring and then seal it".
Off they went, four men looking for what seemed an
impossible answer for their beloved king. Firstly they went
to all the known sages close by and asked for their
assistance, they all said that they would love to help but
they knew of no such answer.
One sage after another was asked and they all came back
with basically the same answer - impossible.
After two whole years of traveling and searching they
decided to go back and tell their king that it was
impossible.
The king was not happy at all, he told them that no was not
an option and to go and try harder and not to come back
until they found what he wanted.
After almost another year of traveling, feeling weary and
tired, one day they stopped by a well to get a drink of
water, whilst there a young boy approached them and asked
if they were the men looking for a sage. They told him that
they were and so he told them of a secret cave high up in
the western mountains that housed the wisest of all men.
The boy said he would lead them there and so off they went.
They found the sage as promised, and he looked no different
from any of the other they had previously met.
The counsel were a little dubious as they had heard the
same answer so often.
This man was different however, once he heard the request
he immediately wrote something down on a scrap of paper and
then asked for the ring. He placed the paper behind the
stone and then sealed it as they had asked.
He then went on to say, "tell your king if he ever finds
himself in a situation that seems impossible to solve, then
open the ring and there he will find the answer".
The counsel were elated, at last they could return home
knowing they had found what the king wanted.
The king was delighted and felt so much more at ease
knowing he had an answer that could really help him if the
time ever arrived.
Many years passed and a nearby kingdom was on the war path,
their ruler wanted to gain control of several kingdoms. He
had conquered 3 already and was eager to conquer this one.
There was a huge battle, our king was losing badly, all was
almost lost. His closest allies told him that he must run,
that he must save his own life so that he could continue to
lead his people and one day gain back their kingdom.
The king took their advise and mounted his horse and
galloped off. He was followed by his predators. Everywhere
he went he could hear them close behind.
After many days of running and not seeming able to lose his
pursuers he came to a fork in the road, he took the left
fork. After a short time the road came to an abrupt ending,
there in front of him was a 300 metre drop, he had no where
to run, he couldn't go back as he could hear the horses
getting closer and closer, his fear was immense, he was
uncontrollably shaking.
He felt sure he was doomed, then in that instant he
remembered the ring and quickly opened it.
The paper was still intact, he nervously opened it and
there in bold writing was the following message - "This too
shall pass". At that very moment he heard the oncoming
horses go into the distance, they had taken the right fork.
He quickly went back and was finally able to lose them.
After some days and nights alone he started to meet people
from his kingdom and over the next five years he managed to
regain rulership of his kingdom.
There were huge celebrations, parties with singing, dancing
and great times.
The king was feeling ecstatic, as he stood on stage about
to address his people an old man appeared out of thin air.
It was the sage who had given him the secret in his ring,
he walked up to the king and whispered in his ear - "This
too shall pass" smiled and then was gone.
The king realized that this was a very powerful message, he
thought he had understood the first time he had read the
message in his ring, but now he really understood.
The king now realized that life always changes, he decided
to build his security on the fact that the only security he
would ever have was the fact that life was insecure.
He realized that there will be great moments and also not
so great times and that both were a natural phenomenon of
life.
This understanding set him free, he was able to enjoy the
moment for what it was and let things come and go as they
do.
The Moral of the story:
When we build our security from the inner world, meaning
that we create an inner stability, a knowing through
prayer, meditation, contemplation, silent times, we start
to recognize that we are connected to all things
everywhere.
We realize that life is constantly in a state of slight
imbalance, this imbalance allows for creativity, for
movement and flow, if it were perfectly balanced it would
all stop.
We recognize that everything will change and we also see
that by creating an inner security we will always be able
to move past the big changes.
We realize that when we build our security on the outer -
relationships, money, bank balances, bricks and mortar,
leadership positions, we would be left with massive
insecurity if they were taken from us.
With inner security we are able to let things be the way
they are with more ease for we know it will not last
forever. Life cannot possibly exist without death, they
need each other for their existence!
This too shall pass!