Mark Alan Fish

Why Presence Matters in the Good Times, and Intention Matters in the Hard Ones

“This too shall pass.”

Most people reach for this phrase when life gets hard.

A setback.
A disappointment.
A season that feels heavier than expected.

In those moments, it becomes a form of comfort — a reminder that the storm won’t last forever.

And it won’t.

But there’s a deeper truth in this phrase that often goes unnoticed.

The good moments pass too.

The laughter.
The breakthrough.
The day when everything clicks.
The moment you wish you could hold onto just a little longer.

That passes as well.

And when you really understand that… it changes how you move through life.

The Truth Most People Miss

“This too shall pass” isn’t about minimizing the moment.

It’s about meeting it fully while it’s here.

When we forget that hard moments are temporary, we resist them.
We fight the experience.
We replay the story.
We try to control what may simply need to move through.

But when we remember the moment is already in motion — already passing — something shifts.

We stop gripping.

We start allowing.

The storm may pass — but you don’t have to become it.

The storm may still come through.
But we don’t have to become the storm.

Live with Presence

Presence is what allows us to actually be in the moment we’re in.

When something good is happening, presence lets us feel it.

Not rush past it.
Not dilute it by thinking about what’s next.
But actually experience it.

The laughter lingers.
The connection deepens.
The moment expands.

Presence reminds us that life isn’t happening later.

It’s happening now.

And when the moment is challenging, presence does something just as powerful.

It separates us from the spiral.

We can acknowledge what’s real without getting pulled under by it.

We can experience the moment… without believing it defines us.

Create with Intention

Presence anchors us.

Intention moves us.

We may not control every situation we encounter —
but we always have influence over how we respond.

When things are going well, intention keeps us grounded.
It prevents us from drifting into autopilot or attachment.

When things are hard, intention gives us direction.
It keeps us from reacting in ways that pull us further off course.

And it invites a better question:

How do I want to show up here?

Presence lets you experience the moment. Intention lets you shape what comes next.

That question is a pivot point.

It shifts us from reacting to creating.

From enduring the moment to using it.

The Way Through

“This too shall pass” is not a reason to detach from life.

It’s a reason to engage with it more consciously.

To feel what’s here — without clinging to it.
To face what’s hard — without becoming it.
To move forward — without rushing past the moment.

Presence allows us to experience life as it is.

Intention allows us to shape what comes next.

And together, they create something powerful:

The ability to move through every moment —
knowing it won’t last forever… and choosing who you are while it’s here.

Every moment is passing. Who you choose to be in it is what remains.

Because every moment is passing.

The question is:

Will you be present for it?
And will you be intentional with what you create from it?