Everything Is Temporary

​I've been using this mantra a lot lately. Everything is temporary. Pain is temporary. Suffering is temporary. Even the wonderful moments are temporary. It's easy enough to say, but in reality our emotions make it feel like the opposite is true. When we feel bad, it feels like it will last forever. If it's bad now, that means it's going to stay bad. This is because of how uncomfortable and unpleasant these emotions feel. Our thought process tries to convince us that this time of suffering is indeed here to stay. This rings especially true now because of COVID-19. The pandemic is still going on. And it sucks. Most of us are tired and just want some sense of normalcy back. 

I've found that just simply reminding myself that this moment: the pandemic, this month, this day - it's all temporary. Nothing in life is permanent. On the flip side, that does mean the good stuff in our lives is also temporary. But when we are in a moment of suffering, gently reminding ourselves that there is a season to everything can ease some of the pain. Some days are wonderful and easy, others are tough and challenging. Remembering this allows us to avoid becoming consumed by our suffering. We can instead flow with the moment, and lean on some faith that it can, and will, change. Neuroscience has found that the true intensity of unpleasant emotions only lasts for a few minutes. Tough times are temporary, as well as the bad feelings that go along with them.

There will come a time when the pandemic has ended and we are able to look back on it as a memory. So for now, try to flow with the change and if it feels bad, that's OK. Be sad, be pissed off. But remember that it is just a moment, not a lifetime. 

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