The Magical Ring

Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed. If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. (Proverbs 3:13-18, 24 ESV).

One day Solomon decided to humble Benaiah ben Yehoyada, his most trusted minister. He said to him, "Benaiah, there is a certain ring that I want you to bring to me. I wish to wear it for Sukkot which gives you six months to find it." "If it exists anywhere on earth, your majesty," replied Benaiah, "I will find it and bring it to you, but what makes the ring so special?" "It has magic powers," answered the king. "If a happy man looks at it, he becomes sad, and if a sad man looks at it, he becomes happy." Solomon knew that no such ring existed in the world, but he wished to give his minister a little taste of humility.
Spring passed and then summer and still Benaiah had no idea where he could find the ring. On the night before Sukkot, he decided to take a walk in one of he poorest quarters of Jerusalem. He passed by a merchant who had begun to set out the day's wares on a shabby carpet. "Have you by any chance heard of a magic ring that makes the happy wearer forget his joy and the broken-hearted wearer forget his sorrows?" asked Benaiah. He watched the grandfather take a plain gold ring from his carpet and engrave something on it. When Benaiah read the words on the ring, his face broke out in a wide smile. That night the entire city welcomed in the holiday of Sukkot with great festivity. "Well, my friend," said Solomon, "have you found what I sent you after?" All the ministers laughed and Solomon himself smiled. To everyone's surprise, Benaiah held up a small gold ring and declared, "Here it is, your majesty!" As soon as Solomon read the inscription, the smile vanished from his face. The jeweler had written three Hebrew letters on the gold band: "gimel, zayin, yud", which began the words Gam zeh ya'avor, which is translated into the English as: "This too shall pass."

Of course there really are no “magical rings” that will bring happiness or sadness to the wearer. However, there is so much truth to Solomon’s words dealing with the value of wisdom. At least one principle of life that can be seen to be true day in and day out is embodied in the words Gam zeh ya’avor. Wisdom declares that we exist in a dynamic relationship with time. Time does not stand still. It is only when we get “stuck” in the loop of the moment that joy and peace slip away from us. While circumstances are often uncontrollable, our reaction to them is entirely within our ability to control. Happiness can be a choice even in the midst of great difficulty. The little chorus of the song goes, “Don’t worry, be happy.” Try living in the moment and see if it will not provide you with that “magical ring.”