Once upon a time there was a king who said to the wise men of the court: – I am
I am making myself a beautiful ring. I have obtained one of the best
possible diamonds. I want to keep hidden inside the ring some
message that can help me in times of utter despair, and that will help my
help my heirs, and the heirs of my heirs, forever.
forever. It has to be a small message, so that it will fit under the diamond of the ring.
All those who listened were wise, great scholars; they could have written great treatises, but to give it a small message, so that it would fit under the diamond of the ring.
They could have written great treatises, but to give him a message of no more than two or three words that could
or three words that could help you in times of total despair.
total. They thought, they searched their books, but could find nothing.
The king had an old servant who had also been a servant of his father.
his father. The king’s mother died early and this servant took care of him,
so he treated him as if he were family. The king had immense respect for the old man
immense respect for the old man, so he also consulted him. And the old man
I am not a sage, not a scholar, not a scholar, not a scholar, but I know the message.
the message. During my long life in the palace, I have met with all kinds of people, and on one occasion
kind of people, and on one occasion I met a mystic. He was
your father’s guest and I was at his service. When he was leaving, as a
gesture of thanks, he gave me this message – the old man wrote it on a tiny piece of paper, folded it
The old man wrote it on a tiny piece of paper, folded it and gave it to the king. But don’t read it,” he said.
he said, “keep it hidden in the ring. Open it only when all else
has failed, when you can find no way out of the situation.That moment was not long in coming. The country was invaded and the king
lost the kingdom. He was fleeing for his life on his horse and his enemies were chasing him.
enemies were pursuing him. He was alone and the pursuers were numerous.
He came to a place where the road ended, there was no way out: in front of him was a precipice and a deep valley.
was a precipice and a deep valley; to fall down it would be the end. And he could not
And he could not turn back because the enemy was closing the way. He could already hear
the trotting of the horses. He could not go forward and there was no other way.
no other way. Suddenly, he remembered the ring. He opened it, took out the
paper and there he found a tremendously valuable little message.
It simply said: “THIS WILL ALSO HAPPEN”. As she read “this too
will pass” he felt a great silence hanging over him. The enemies
The enemies pursuing him must have gotten lost in the forest, or they must have taken the wrong
the wrong path, but the truth is that little by little he stopped hearing the trotting of the horses.
the trotting of the horses.

The king was deeply grateful to the servant and to the mystic stranger.
the mystic stranger. Those words had been miraculous. He folded the
folded the paper, put it back in the ring, gathered his armies and reconquered the kingdom.
reconquered the kingdom. And on the day he entered the capital city victorious again, there was a great
capital there was a great celebration with music, dancing… and he was very proud of himself.
very proud of himself. The old man was next to him in the chariot and he said to him
The old man was beside him in the chariot and said: “This moment is also suitable: look at the message again.
-What do you mean? -asked the king. Now I am victorious, the people
people celebrate my return, I am not desperate, I am not in a hopeless situation.
I am not in a hopeless situation.

-Listen,” said the old man, “this message is not only for desperate situations.
desperate situations; it is also for pleasant situations.
pleasant situations. It is not only for when you are defeated; it is also for when you feel victorious.
when you feel victorious. It is not only for when you are last;
it is also for when you are the first. The king opened the ring and read
the message: “This too shall pass,” and again he felt the same peace, the same silence, in the midst of the crowd.
the same silence, in the midst of the crowd that celebrated and danced,
but the pride, the egomania, was gone. The king was able to finish
to understand the message. Then the old man said to him: -Remember that
everything passes away. No thing and no emotion is permanent. Like day and night
and night, there are moments of joy and moments of sadness. Accept them
as part of the duality of nature because they are the very nature of things.
nature of things.