We'll See

Here is a Zen story that I heard many years ago:

A farmer owned a horse. He used the horse to plow his field, to sow his seeds, harvest his crops and take them to market. One day the horse jumped over a fence and ran away. The farmer's neighbors told him how unlucky he was because now he didn't have a horse to help with his farm work. "This is bad luck," the people said. The farmer replied, "Good luck, bad luck. We'll see."

The next day the horse returned and brought with it three wild horses. The farmer's neighbors told him how lucky he was because now he had four horses. "You'll be able to plant and harvest more crops. You will make more money. You may even buy more land. You'll be rich! This is good luck," they said. The farmer replied, "Good luck, bad luck. We'll see."

The next day the man's son tried to mount one of the wild horses and it bucked and threw the young man to the ground. This caused the young man to break his leg. The farmer's neighbors came and told the farmer how unlucky he was. "Now you won't have your son to help you plant crops! This will cause you hardship. This is bad luck," they said. The farmer replied, "Good luck, bad luck. We'll see."

The next day a military unit came by the man's farm. They were conscripting young men into the army. They saw the farmer's son with his broken leg and they said, "We cannot use this man." And the military men left and continued down the road. The farmer's neighbors came and told the farmer how lucky he was. "Your son escaped being conscripted into the army. You still have your son. This is good luck," they said. The farmer said, "Good luck, bad luck. We'll see."

The point of this Zen story is that we often label events as good or bad, even though they may turn out to be the opposite. Events are just events and we don't know if they will turn out to be bad for us or good for us. Meanwhile, labeling them as good luck or bad luck just adds emotional drama that is usually counterproductive. The future is not ours to know. 

At this point in my life, I'm going through one of those "good luck/bad luck" scenarios. I try hard not to think about it as good or bad but rather, it is what it is. I'll deal with it as much as I can. As for the future? We'll see.