In any given situation one never knows the outcome until afterwards. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Over my life many things have happened that have made me question why? Why now? Why me? On reflection sometimes the thing that happened was just a terrible thing and other times I see that I had to go through it in order to understand, that actually it was a blessing.
I wanted to share something with you that’s helped me so much through trying times.
Let me share a short story with you….
An old Chinese story of unknown origin tells of a farmer who used an old horse to help plough his fields.
One day, the horse escaped and galloped off. When the farmer’s neighbours sympathized with the man over the bad news, the farmer replied, “Good? Bad? Who Knows?”
A week later, the horse returned with a herd of horses! This time the neighbours congratulated the farmer on this good news. He replied, “Good? Bad? Who knows?
Then when the farmer’s son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off the horse’s back and broke his leg. Everyone thought this was very bad news. The farmer’s reaction, “Good? Bad? Who knows?
Some weeks later, the army marched into the village and drafted every able-bodied youth they found. When they saw the farmer’s son with his broken leg, they let him stay.
Good? Bad? Who Knows?
This story can go on and on. The point is that in any given situation we don’t know if it’s going to be good or bad. I’ve adopted this mindset to pause and question each difficult situation. I look at the bad and then try and find the good. I always manage to find both.
This mindset keeps your mind open to finding different perspectives and possibilities in every situation. And as a result we start to respond differently too.
I hope this helps you to look at all your challenges in a new light. Good? Bad? Who knows?
(Photo Credit: Unsplash Emily Morter)
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