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A poor oriental farmer lost the
only horse he had. When the villagers heard that the horse had run off, they
sympathised with the farmer and said, "Bad luck." The farmer answered, "Who can
say?
On the next day, the horse
returned home with ten other horses. When the villagers heard this, they
returned and said, "Good luck." The farmer replied, "Who can say?"
Later that day, while training
one of the new horses, the farmer's son fell off the horse and broke his leg.
Again, the villagers sympathised and said, "Bad luck." The farmer replied, "Who
can say?"
On the following day, an invading
army came into the village and took all the young men away as captives.
The farmer's son was not taken because of his broken leg.
Sometimes we succeed in getting
what we think will be good for us, and it turns out to be a disaster. And
sometimes apparent disaster turns out to be good fortune. Who has not
experienced this paradox in his or her life?
The constant flow of positives
and negatives in our lives teaches us to flow freely with them, and not to get
stuck by taking either pole too seriously. |
