An old man and his son lived on a farm. They had only one horse to pull the plow. They were dependent on this horse for their source of income. One day, the horse ran away.
The neighbors sympathized with them. “That’s unfortunate. What bad luck.”
The old farmer replied. “Who knows if it is good luck or bad luck.”
A week later, the horse returned from the mountains and led five wild mares into their barn.
“That’s great news,” The neighbors enthused. “You have so many horses now.”
The farmer shrugged. “Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?”
The next day, the son was trying to tame one of the wild horses, and he fell and broke his leg.
The neighbors offered condolences. “Very sorry for the poor boy.”
The farmer repeated again. “Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?”
After a few days, the army came to all farms to enlist young men for war, but the farmer’s son was spared because of his injured leg.
“Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?”
The story introduces the premise of this piece. William Shakespeare once said “There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” We humans do not have the knowledge or wisdom to know what is good or bad, wrong or right. It is not our place to make judgments. Ours is only to accept what is.
The flat tire that got you late for that important meeting may actually have saved you from a nasty accident at the next intersection. But having the accident, could have led you to meet this beautiful, intelligent nurse at the hospital, whom you would fall in love with. The point is that we do not know.
Renowned mythologist and writer, Joseph Campbell says that we are all in a free fall into the future. We have no idea where we are headed, and this uncertainty leads to stress. All we need to do to transform our hell into a paradise is to turn our fall into a voluntary act. Joyfully participate in the sorrows of the world and everything changes. It’s a simple but remarkable shift of perspective.
To illustrate this shift of perspective, say you go to a restaurant and order the orange juice that you heard was good. The waitress says that they are out of orange juice but they have carrot juice instead. You can respond in two ways: complain about the lack of orange juice and that fact that it should be there since it is on the menu; or accept this and cheerfully say okay, actually carrot juice sounds good.
It is obvious which of these two reactions will leave you happier. Even a single moment of resistance to the situation causes stress. It’s not worth it. True happiness doesn’t come from getting what we want but rather from wanting what we get. Once we develop the ability to want, accept and enjoy whatever we have, then everything will make us happy. To change our perspective in this way, we can remember two simple rules: Rule No.1: Don’t worry about the small stuff. Rule No 2: It’s all small stuff.
It is not the situation that matters, but how we react to it. Mental and emotional suffering stem from resistance to what is, and from attachment to beliefs of what should or shouldn’t be. The first step to liberation is to resign as general manager of the universe. Life is God’s novel, let God write it. Letting go in this way will bring a sense of freedom and lightness.
Sure, it’s fine to make some plans for the future. Like a college education, for example. But it’s best not to get too attached to our plans, because they have a way of changing. There is a saying that goes ‘If you want to make God laugh, tell God about your plans.’
Once we let go of all our beliefs, assumptions and expectations, we will experience a sense of peace. All the burdens we have carried over the years will disappear, safely handed off to a higher power. The quality of our lives is determined by the quality of every passing moment. We must embrace each moment, and make the best of whatever new wave of pleasure or pain, success or failure, triumph or disaster that the moment brings. Quoting Morpheus from The Matrix “What happened had to happen, and couldn’t have happened in any other way.” To have faith is to surrender to the will of the divine, cosmic force that will always be a mystery to us.
The neighbors sympathized with them. “That’s unfortunate. What bad luck.”
The old farmer replied. “Who knows if it is good luck or bad luck.”
A week later, the horse returned from the mountains and led five wild mares into their barn.
“That’s great news,” The neighbors enthused. “You have so many horses now.”
The farmer shrugged. “Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?”
The next day, the son was trying to tame one of the wild horses, and he fell and broke his leg.
The neighbors offered condolences. “Very sorry for the poor boy.”
The farmer repeated again. “Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?”
After a few days, the army came to all farms to enlist young men for war, but the farmer’s son was spared because of his injured leg.
“Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?”
The story introduces the premise of this piece. William Shakespeare once said “There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” We humans do not have the knowledge or wisdom to know what is good or bad, wrong or right. It is not our place to make judgments. Ours is only to accept what is.
The flat tire that got you late for that important meeting may actually have saved you from a nasty accident at the next intersection. But having the accident, could have led you to meet this beautiful, intelligent nurse at the hospital, whom you would fall in love with. The point is that we do not know.
Renowned mythologist and writer, Joseph Campbell says that we are all in a free fall into the future. We have no idea where we are headed, and this uncertainty leads to stress. All we need to do to transform our hell into a paradise is to turn our fall into a voluntary act. Joyfully participate in the sorrows of the world and everything changes. It’s a simple but remarkable shift of perspective.
To illustrate this shift of perspective, say you go to a restaurant and order the orange juice that you heard was good. The waitress says that they are out of orange juice but they have carrot juice instead. You can respond in two ways: complain about the lack of orange juice and that fact that it should be there since it is on the menu; or accept this and cheerfully say okay, actually carrot juice sounds good.
It is obvious which of these two reactions will leave you happier. Even a single moment of resistance to the situation causes stress. It’s not worth it. True happiness doesn’t come from getting what we want but rather from wanting what we get. Once we develop the ability to want, accept and enjoy whatever we have, then everything will make us happy. To change our perspective in this way, we can remember two simple rules: Rule No.1: Don’t worry about the small stuff. Rule No 2: It’s all small stuff.
It is not the situation that matters, but how we react to it. Mental and emotional suffering stem from resistance to what is, and from attachment to beliefs of what should or shouldn’t be. The first step to liberation is to resign as general manager of the universe. Life is God’s novel, let God write it. Letting go in this way will bring a sense of freedom and lightness.
Sure, it’s fine to make some plans for the future. Like a college education, for example. But it’s best not to get too attached to our plans, because they have a way of changing. There is a saying that goes ‘If you want to make God laugh, tell God about your plans.’
Once we let go of all our beliefs, assumptions and expectations, we will experience a sense of peace. All the burdens we have carried over the years will disappear, safely handed off to a higher power. The quality of our lives is determined by the quality of every passing moment. We must embrace each moment, and make the best of whatever new wave of pleasure or pain, success or failure, triumph or disaster that the moment brings. Quoting Morpheus from The Matrix “What happened had to happen, and couldn’t have happened in any other way.” To have faith is to surrender to the will of the divine, cosmic force that will always be a mystery to us.
