The Chinese Farmer and Good Luck, Bad Luck[1]

There once was a Chinese Farmer who had one son and one horse.

One day the horse ran away. The neighbors came and proclaimed, “Oh, this is bad luck!”

But the farmer said, “Good luck…Bad luck. Who can say?”

The next day the horse returned, along with five wild mares. The neighbors saw this and exclaimed, “Oh, this is good luck!”

The farmer said, “Good luck…Bad luck. Who can say?”

The next day the farmer’s son tried to break one of the wild mares. The mare threw him, he fell and broke his leg. The neighbors saw this and exclaimed, “Oh, this is bad luck!”

But the farmer said, “Good luck…Bad luck. Who can say?”

Th next day the army came to the village and took all the able bodied men to war. Since the farmer’s son had a broken leg they left him at home. The neighbors saw this and exclaimed, “Oh, this is good luck!”

But the farmer said, “Good luck…Bad luck. Who can say?”

Everything is relative. In every gift there is a lesson. In every lesson there is a gift. Energy is neutral, its impact is determined by what we choose to do with it.

The question is, "What are you doing with your's?"

[1] Adapted from the story told by Chin-Ning Chu, in "The Asian Mind Game: unlocking the hidden agenda of the Asian business culture -- a westerner's survival manual," New York:Macmillan Publishing Company, page 182. (1991)