History has blessed humanity with the presence of numerous Masters and Saints that have freely offered wisdom to all in the same unconditional way that the Sun pours its warmth on sinners and saints alike. Each month I will add a least one wisdom story drawn from the worlds parables and from my own inner moments of illumination. Please stop by from time to time to enjoy and reflect. Namaste.
Good Luck Bad Luck – Who can say….
Most people have a tendency to view events that affect them through a very narrow field and lose sight of the fact that there is always a bigger picture that the wise person considers. The Taoists have a parable that illustrates this and is a story I often tell to people whom have encountered some level of apparent misfortune. The tale goes something like this…
There was once a farmer who had only one horse and one day the horse ran away. The neighbours came to console him over his terrible loss. Yet the farmer said, “Good luck, bad luck, who can say?”
A week later, the horse came home–this time bringing with her two beautiful wild horses. The neighbours stopped by again this time excited at the farmer’s good fortune. The farmer said, “Good luck, bad luck, who can say?”
Some weeks later the farmer’s only son was thrown from one of the wild horses whilst trying to break it in and broke his leg. Another neighbour stoped by very distressed lamenting the farmer’s bad luck. The farmer replied, “Good luck, bad luck, who can say?”
A short while later, war broke out, and the king sent his soldiers to gather all the villagers sons to fill the ranks of his army. Upon seeing the farmers son had a broken leg, they moved on. When they left, the farmer said “Good luck, bad luck, who can say?”
If we look back on the things that have occurred in our lives we can often see that something that was initially considered bad and unfortunate brought with it positive long term results. Hence the tendency to quickly judge and label a situation is more often inaccurate and unhelpful. Adopting a mindful approach allows one to simply see things as they are and eliminates the need to classify something as good or bad. Such an approach can greatly reduce stress and help maintain a sense of calm. Remember this next time an apparently adverse event comes to pay you a visit.