This Too Shall Pass

Occasionally, I will wake up in a panic about the coronavirus.  How can I bring in new clients if I can’t network?  What happens if I run out of work?  How will my 6-year old pass high school calculus if he misses a few weeks of kindergarten?  There are many sayings in my program of recovery that help with these feelings, one of them is “This Too Shall Pass”.  I usually begin with a few deep breaths.  Then I ask a higher power to help me live in the moment and to direct my thinking and my actions.  During uncertain times, I will do this in the morning and throughout the day.  This helps me keep things in perspective and reminds me that most stressful situations are temporary.

Another attorney writes:

“Everything will be ok in the end. If it is not ok, it is not the end”.

This old Indian proverb, made famous by John Lennon and used in lots of self improvement and recovery programs, is a great tool for dealing with the anxiety and fear of the pandemic. It reminds us that all things are temporary, both good and bad, and that this difficult time shall pass. A lot of my anxiety, fear and stress about the pandemic are not about things that have happened or are happening. They are about things that could happen. This quote reminds me to stay in today, be present, and keep my head where my feet are. When I don’t, Mark Twain sums up this waste of energy perfectly: “I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.” So when I find myself falling down the rabbit hole of “what if’s” about the pandemic and its implications and I feel like I’m so tense that I’m wearing my shoulders as earrings, I feel my feet on the ground, take a deep breath, and remind myself all will be ok in the end.