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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Halivar" data-source="post: 3691282" data-attributes="member: 9327">Okay, this one has been quoted twice before, but it needs a context. There's a neat story behind it. It's long so I sblock'd it. I probably took some small artistic license with it. It's an old Jewish fable (though there's also a Sufi version) that ends in a good reminder:[sblock]Long ago, King Solomon, the wisest king on earth, decided to humble one of his advisors, who had grown haughty and arrogant. He said to his advisor, "Go, search all the lands and find me a magic ring, and present it to me at the Feast of Booths in six months, and I shall give you a third of my kingdom.""What sort of magic ring, my king?" said the advisor.The king replied, "Find me a magic ring with the power to turn despair into joy, and happiness into grief."The advisor immediately went out to all the master jewelers in the city, but could not find such a ring. He traveled to all the cities in Solomon's kingdom, but could not find such a ring. He rode a caravan to Tyre, and inquired all the craftsmen of that country, but still could not find the magic ring. He sailed all the way to Tarshish at the edge of the world, and pleaded with their kings to give him such a magic ring if it existed, but to no avail.Dejected, he returned to Jerusalem. Hours before the feast, he wandered the poor section of the city, lest any of his peers see him and recognize his failure. He slumped next to an old man selling carvings in the street."What troubles you so?" said the old man.The advisor replied, "It is my king. He has set me about an impossible task: to find a magic ring with the power to turn despair into joy, and happiness into grief. But such a ring does not exist, and I would rather die than face my king with such failure."The old man thought for a while, and with a stroke of inspiration, removed his own plain gold ring and began scratching letters onto it with his awl. When he was done, he handed the ring to the advisor, and said "Behold, I have found your magic ring."As soon as the despondent advisor read the inscription, he lept with joy, and hurried to the king's feast. It was an opulent affair, with dancing in the streets, and a celebration of the king's greatness and power. The king himself drank wine and made merry, and basked in the glory the revelers gave to him. Excitedly, the advisor ran up to the king, crying "My lord, I have brought your magic ring!"The king, amused, stood and received the advisor. Truth be told, he expected the advisor to return humbled, not triumphant. Nevertheless, he held out his hand to receive the magic ring, and the advisor gave it to him.As he read the inscription, the king's smile faded, and his face was crestfallen even in the midst of the wondrous celebration. The king turned to his other advisors and said, "To this man I give a third of my kingdom." And with that, he retired from the celebration to return to his palace in silence.The other advisors crowded around the man, and inquired of him, "What was this magic ring? What did the inscription say?"The advisor replied, "This, too, shall pass."[/sblock]I say this one to myself when times get rough, or when I'm feeling like nothing can go wrong. Helps keep things in perspective.</blockquote>

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