A farmer’s only horse runs away. Neighbors come over to exclaim, “We heard the awful news!”
The farmer replies, “Good news? Bad news? We don’t know.”
The horse comes back with a second horse. The farmer’s son rides the horse, falls and breaks his leg.
The neighbors once again lament, “Such unfortunate news!”
The farmer replies, “Good news, bad news? We don’t know.”
Government officials come to the village to conscript soldiers; the son isn’t chosen because of his injury.
This farmer has figured out how to avoid labeling life events as catastrophes. And I believe this detachment and open mindedness can apply to life today…
The news: I was let go from a job in the midst of the economic downturn.
The result: I got a tax refund, used my down time to visit my sister in Germany and was able to return to that job a few months
later.
The news: A client I worked with this year was the hardest of my career.
The result: I got to see what I was made of and was soon after hired by another firm that was a much better fit.
Can you apply the Farmer’s Wisdom to aspects of your life? I’d love to hear how.