The Story of the Chinese Farmer

Once upon a time there was a Chinese farmer whose horse ran away. 

That evening, all of his neighbors came around to commiserate: “We're so sorry to hear your horse has run away. This is most unfortunate.”  

The farmer said, “Maybe.” 

The next day the horse came back bringing seven wild horses with it. That evening his neighbours came back and said, “How lucky is that! What a great turn of events!"

Again, the farmer said, “Maybe.”

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the horses, and while doing so, was thrown off it, breaking his leg. 

The neighbors chimed in again: “Ah, that’s too bad”. The farmer responded.. “Maybe.” 

The next day the conscription officers came by to enlist people into the army. His son was rejected due to his broken leg. 

Once again his neighbours came by, saying “Isn’t this great news!!” 

Once again, he said, “Maybe.”

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For me, this story nicely captures the nature of life itself. 

It provides some much needed perspective during times when life feels like it's not panning out how I'd like it to.

Once you recognise that it's literally impossible to say whether anything that happens is good or bad, & instead choose to view the challenges you're presented with in life as obstacles placed there for you to overcome (& grow in the process of doing so), life becomes a much more enjoyable experience!