Last Thursday I slipped on the ice while walking my dog and broke my ankle. Laying on the ice, I thought, “This is the worst thing that could happen right now!”
I was reminded of this ancient fable.
A farmer had only one horse. One day, his horse ran away.
His neighbors said, “I’m so sorry. This is such bad news. You must be so upset.”
The man just said, “We’ll see.”
A few days later, his horse came back with twenty wild horses following. The man and his son corralled all 21 horses.
His neighbors said, “Congratulations! This is such good news. You must be so happy!”
The man just said, “We’ll see.”
One of the wild horses kicked the man’s only son, breaking both his legs.
His neighbors said, “I’m so sorry. This is such bad news. You must be so upset.”
The man just said, “We’ll see.”
The country went to war, and every able-bodied young man was drafted to fight. The war was terrible and killed every young man, but the farmer’s son was spared, since his broken legs prevented him from being drafted.
His neighbors said, “Congratulations! This is such good news. You must be so happy!”
The man just said, “We’ll see.”
The point of the story….
- There’s always plenty of evidence for the story you tell yourself (confirmation bias)
- Shift the story, and watch the evidence line up to reinforce it.
- Ditch the story and see what a moment brings.
We experience in life things we’d rather avoid. Wisdom comes from being present and working under any condition. In every obstacle lies an opportunity. How you perceive a moment and what you do with it is up to you.
These experiences teach us not to lose hope or feel utterly defeated, wait and see through all the pain and all the joys and say courageously, “We’ll see”.
Shakespeare said, “Nothing’s either good or bad except your thinking makes it so.”
