At times it can feel like everything is crumbling in your life. Things are not working out as you expect, petty conflicts are arising in your relationships, the weather is uninspiring, and you don’t feel that great inside either.

At other times you are facing a challenge that seems to be bigger than you, and everything you try fails—no technique, no meditation, no affirmation is helping.

You may feel as if there is a cloud obscuring your vision, and you can’t figure out what is going on. Or you know exactly what is going on, but feel utterly powerless in relation to that challenge.

In moments like this the mind can spin wildly, and it’s easy to lose heart and fall into despair.

This Too Shall Pass

If anything like this is happening to you right now, it’s time to pause and take a deep breath.

Release all expectations about what should be happening right now. And, above all, remember that this too shall pass.

Three weeks from now you will not be feeling the same way—perhaps not even three days from now. How you are feeling right now is not how your life is going to be forever. Another day will come, another season will come, and things will move.

You don’t know when, or how. But what you can do right now is to continue to bear witness to the unfolding of life in front of your eyes, without losing your center. There will be a time to act, to apply your will, but perhaps it’s not right now.

Strategic Waiting, Strategic Action

With this message, I’m not promoting passivity.

In fact, in my personal life and also in my teachings, I’ve always believed in human agency, and that we are more powerful and capable than we may think. I don’t subscribe to the new-age-spirituality idea of “just let it be and go with the flow”; I also don’t subscribe to the hustle-culture, bulldozer approach of “do-do-do”.

There is fine balance to be aspired for here.

In the Higher Mind System we emphasize both awareness and willpower, seeing and acting, being and doing. There is a time to act, and there is a time to wait and just observe.

The wisdom of your higher mind knows the difference between procrastination and strategic waiting. It knows the difference between feeling like a powerless victim, and waiting for the right moment to strike—so that your efforts bear the most fruit.

When the stars are not aligning for you, when there is a cloud of confusion, or when unexpected blows come from every corner—ground yourself. Do not rush into conclusions, do not rush into action. Rather, take time to go within, gain perspective, and reconnect to your aspirations.

Yes, you can always act, you can always try move the needle. But there are times when the wisest thing to do is to wait and let the dust settle, knowing that this too shall pass.

Then, when you have collected yourself, when things move, clarity comes, and your life force is replenished—then take strategic and decisive action, one baby step at a time.