Do you really know what is good for you? Ancient wisdom from China – short story.
An old man lived with his son and his horse in a tiny village. One day his horse ran away.
Upon hearing the news, the villagers gathered outside his hut and they said “such a bad luck”
“May be” farmer replied
The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How wonderful,” the neighbours exclaimed.
“May be” farmer replied
The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbours again came to offer their sympathy for what they called his “such a bad luck”
“May be” farmer replied
The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Old man’s son was disqualified due to broken leg. The neighbours congratulated the farmer on his good fortune
“May be” farmer replied
What’s the point?
An event in itself is neither good nor bad, it is judged to be good or bad relative to some other event in the past or expected event in the future.
Unknown future counterbalance the past that cannot be changed.
Good luck, bad luck, who knows where it ends? In the end neither matters, so make the most of the present moment.
Note:
The old man and his horse (Sài wēng shī mǎ, yān zhī fēi fú) is one of the most famous parables from the Huainanzi, China. A similar sentiment to the parable is also expressed in Tao Te Ching by Laozi from the 6th to 4th century BC.
Imagination at work: If Laozi were to express the sentiment in 2022, I suspect he would have just tweeted
“Past performance Is not indicative of future results, terms and conditions apply” ( in Size 8 font).
take it easy until next time
Photo credit: David Yarrow
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