So, I have passed through the storm of January as expected. If you are still reading, you have my thanks. The world, as always, has kept on turning and people have kept on being foolish, mean-spirited, kind, and forgiving in equal measure. Such as it is, always in balance, except when the foolish and mean-spirited are the one's in power. In those times we have to think...
1.
This too shall pass
این نیز بگذرد
īn nīz bogzarad
Phrase from a fable of the Sufi poets, Attar of Nishapur or others, which relates to a king who asks for a ring that will make him happy whenever he is sad. After consideration the sages craft a ring with this phrase, which has the unfortunate side effect of depressing him whenever he is happy too...
Or, if you prefer...
גם זה יעבור
gam zeh ya'avor
A Jewish folktale that relates to King Solomon.
2.
Take courage, my heart: you have been
through worse than this
τέτλαθι δή, κραδίη: καὶ κύντερον ἄλλο ποτ᾽ ἔτλης
Odyssey 20:18
Not so much, all is immaterial and will eventually fade, but rather
'hold on, you'll have your time soon.' In Homer's case it is a time for
vengeance against the evil deeds he has suffered.
Full context:
His anger was roused, and he pondered in his mind, whether he should
chase them down and kill them, or leave them to sleep with the arrogant Suitors
one last time. He growled inside, like a bitch guarding her vulnerable pups,
ready to fight on seeing a stranger. He growled inside with anger at their evil
ways, but striking his chest he restrained his heart, saying: ‘Patience, my
heart. You endured worse than this when the Cyclops, with his huge strength,
ate my loyal friends: yet you held firm until your cunning released you from
that cave where you faced death.’
Such were his words of self-rebuke, and his heart obediently steeled
itself to patience, but he still lay tossing this way and that. Like a paunch
filled with fat and blood turning in front of a blazing fire, twisted about by
the man who roasts it, eager to see it done, so Odysseus turned from side to
side, considering how to tackle the shameless Suitors, one man against many.
