It is what it is . . . but it’s not what it will be

There’s a perfect pithy phrase in the culture right now: 

It is what it is.

It reminds us to look at whatever is occurring right this hot moment with (spiritual) acceptance, no matter how fackacka the situation.

It just is.

This maxim reminds us not to overthink it.

It is!

The saying encourages us to relax into the experience — it is what it is, it’s real but it doesn’t have power over you.

To this I append: . . . but it’s not what it will be.

I do this because so many (including me, always including me) use the saying as a shorthand for (mental) acceptance of a recurring situation, as if it were a permanent condition.

But it’s not what it will be is a reminder that flux is the universal constant, that all things must pass. It is the coda but also the kicker — to live knowing that every experience is fluid, even those that seem frozen in eternity.

This reminder, that I, in my feeling-thoughts and thought-actions, influence outcomes — 

It is what it is . . . 
(business calamity, to use a situation I’m familiar with)
(debilitating back pain)
(betrayal)

. . . but it’s not what it will be
(could be a comeback, could be a new adventure)
(could take up yoga and become supple as a snake)
(could find deep self-love from the experience, could find enduring love elsewhere, could engage in true forgiveness)

It is what it is — this grounds you.

. . . but it is not what it will be — this propels you.