An old Chinese
proverb tells of a humble farmer, who was seemingly unaffected
when he discovered his prized stallion had wandered off.
His neighbors were loudly sympathetic. "Isn't it terrible
that your valuable horse is lost?" they inquired. "Who
am I to say what is good or bad?" the old man said, shrugging
his shoulders.
His neighbors simply shook their heads in disbelief, figuring
the man had lost his senses in his grief. A few weeks later,
when the horse returned, accompanied by twenty young mares, they
were happier.
"Isn't it wonderful?" they exulted. "How lucky
you are!"
"Who am I to judge what is or is not wonderful?" the
farmer muttered, accepting his luck as a matter of course.
The neighbors were suddenly sympathetic again when the farmer's
son was thrown off one of the mares, and fractured his leg. "Things
happen," the farmer sighed. "I am not one to say things
that happen are bad or good."
Again, the neighbors were surprised at how calmly he accepted
his misfortune. But they all agreed he'd saved himself some grief
a few days later when the local warlord sent troops into the
village, conscripting all able-bodied young men into the army.
What do you
think? Is this a good or bad story?
Don't ask
me. I'm not the one to say.