My grandparents taught me the real meaning of resilience. The phrase they lived by still helps me through life’s hardest moments - here’s why it matters.
When I think of resilience, I don’t picture motivational posters or bold slogans about “never giving up.”
I picture my grandparents.
Two people who lived through more than most of us ever will, yet somehow managed to stay grounded, kind, and calm through it all.
They didn’t talk about strength. They embodied it.
My grandparents came from humble beginnings.
They moved countries with little more than their determination and a suitcase of faith. Life wasn’t easy, but I never once heard them complain.
They worked hard, loved deeply, and laughed easily.
And whenever something went wrong, which it often did, they’d say one simple phrase that became the heartbeat of their lives:
“This too shall pass.”
The calm in their chaos
I remember my grandmother saying it when her health began to fade.
She’d smile softly and say, “This too shall pass, my love. Everything always does.”
At the time, I didn’t fully understand it. I thought she was just being hopeful.
But as I got older, those words started to make sense in a way I can’t quite describe.
Life throws storms at you. Heartbreaks, setbacks, losses you never saw coming. And when you’re in it, it feels endless.
But then, slowly, things shift.
You find moments of light again. The ache dulls. The laughter returns.
“This too shall pass” isn’t about dismissing pain.
It’s about remembering that pain doesn’t last forever. That’s what my grandparents understood so beautifully.
They knew life was cyclical.
Good times and bad times come and go, and the secret to surviving both is learning not to cling too tightly to either.
Strength that didn’t shout
What struck me most about their resilience was how quiet it was.
They didn’t dramatize their struggles or make their strength performative.
They faced each challenge with a kind of grace that came from acceptance, not resistance.
My grandfather lost his business once, and I still remember how he handled it.
He sat at the kitchen table, sipped his tea, and said, “We’ll start again tomorrow.”
No panic. No self-pity. Just calm, steady faith in his ability to rebuild.
And he did.
That kind of strength is rare today.
We live in a world that glorifies instant success and emotional control, yet true resilience often looks like sitting with discomfort and still believing you’ll find your way through.
Lessons that grew with me
Whenever I’ve faced hard times, whether it was a breakup, burnout, or the uncertainty that comes with major life changes, I’ve found myself whispering their phrase under my breath.
“This too shall pass.”
Sometimes it’s a comfort. Other times, it’s a quiet reminder to hold on.
And it doesn’t only apply to pain. It also reminds me not to take the good times for granted.
When life is flowing and things feel easy, I hear my grandmother’s voice again, reminding me to stay humble and grateful.
Because joy passes too, and that’s okay. It makes it more precious.
Finding modern meaning in old wisdom
Recently, I came across a book that echoed my grandparents’ mindset so deeply that I had to stop and smile.
It’s called Laughing in the Face of Chaos by Rudá Iandê.
In it, he writes, “Fear, when understood, is not our enemy. It's an intrinsic part of the human experience.”
Those words hit me.
Because that’s exactly what my grandparents lived by without ever saying it so directly.
They didn’t fear change, uncertainty, or endings. They embraced them as part of being human.
The book reminded me that resilience isn’t the absence of fear or pain. It’s the ability to stay open through it.
And that’s what “This too shall pass” really means. Not just waiting for things to get better, but trusting that you’ll adapt, grow, and rebuild when they do.
The legacy of quiet strength
My grandparents didn’t leave behind much in material terms.
But what they did leave is worth far more than anything money could buy.
They left behind a way of living.
A belief in simplicity. In kindness. In weathering the storm with dignity and humor.
Their phrase has become a sort of compass for me.
Whenever I’m lost or overwhelmed, I return to it.
Sometimes it feels like they’re still with me when I say it out loud, reminding me to breathe, to keep going, and to trust that the moment I’m in will eventually shift.
And they’re always right. It always does.
Final thoughts
We all have our anchors, the things or people that keep us steady when life pulls hard.
For me, it’s that simple phrase my grandparents lived by.
“This too shall pass.”
It’s a reminder that nothing is permanent, not the pain, not the joy, not the fear.
And maybe that’s the real secret to resilience: understanding that change isn’t something to fight. It’s something to flow with.
So if you’re in a hard chapter right now, hold on.
Keep your heart open. Trust that your story is still unfolding.
Because just like my grandparents taught me, every storm eventually clears.
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