Once upon a time there was a king, who told all of the wise men of his court:

     "I am having a special ring made for myself. I have found one of the best diamonds in the world. I want to hide a message in the ring that could help me in moments of total despair, and that will help my children, and my children's children, for ever and ever. It has to be a small message, so that it will fit under the diamond on the ring."

     Everyone who was listening were wise, great learned scholars, who could have drafted up great treaties, but to give the king a message of only two or three words that could help him in moments of total despair, well that was another story. They thought at great length, they consulted their books, but they couldn't find anything. The king had an old servant that had also served his father before him. The king had tremendous respect for the old man, so he also consulted him. And the old man said to him:

     "I am not a wise man, nor a learned scholar, nor an academic, but I know the message you are looking for. During my long life in the palace, I once met a mystic. He was a guest of your father, and I served him. When he left, as a gesture of thanks, he gave me this message."

     The old man wrote it down on a tiny piece of paper, folded it, and gave it to the king. "But don't read it," he told him, "Keep it hidden in the ring. Only open it when all else has failed, when you have nowhere else to turn."

     It didn't take long for this moment to arrive. The country was invaded and the king lost his kingdom. He was fleeing on horseback to save his life and he was being pursued by his enemies. He was all alone and his persecutors were many. He reached a place where the road stopped dead there was no away out: before him stood a huge precipice and a deep valley; to fall would mean the end. And he could not go back because his enemy was catching up to him. He could hear the sound of the horses approaching. He couldn't go on and there was no other route open to him...

     Suddenly he remembered the ring. He opened it, took out the piece of paper, and found this priceless little message: it simply said "THIS TOO WILL PASS."

     While he was reading the words "this too will pass..." he felt a great silence come over him. The enemies following him must have gotten lost in the woods, or taken a wrong turn, but what was certain was the sound of the horses galloping was gradually fading into the distance. The king felt deeply grateful to the servant and to the unknown mystic. Those words had turned out to be a miracle. He folded the paper, put it back into the ring, rejoined his armies and reconquered his kingdom. And the day that he once again entered his capital in victory there was a great celebration with music and dancing... and he felt very proud of himself. The old servant was at his side in his carriage and he said to the king:

     "This is also the right time to take another look at the message."

     "What are you saying?" asked the king. "Now victory is mine, the people are celebrating my return, I am not longing despairing, and I am not in a place where I have nowhere to turn.

     "Listen," said the old man, "This message is not only for desperate situations, it is also for pleasant times. It is not only for when you are defeated; it is also for when you feel victory. It is not only for when you are down; it is also for when you are on top.

     The king opened the message and again read the message: "This too shall pass." And again he felt the same peace, the same silence, in the middle of the crowd that was celebrating and dancing, but his pride and his ego had disappeared. The king finally understood the message. He was enlightened.

     And then the old man said to him: "Remember everything that has happened. No one thing and no emotion lasts forever. Like day and night, there are moments of happiness and moments of sadness. Accept them as part of the duality of nature, because that is the true nature of things."