The Possibility of Good

July 6, 2008

Dear Friends,

Many of you (if not most of you) have probably heard one or more versions of the following story . . . supposedly a Zen fable:

There was once a wise old farmer who owned a prize horse. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came over to offer their condolences. "Such bad luck," they said sympathetically. "Maybe," was all the farmer replied. A few days later the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. "How wonderful," the neighbors exclaimed. "Maybe," replied the old man again. The following day, the farmer’s son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown off, and broke his leg. Once again, the neighbors offered their sympathy, saying "How awful." "Maybe," answered the farmer one more time. The day after that, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son of the farmer had a broken leg, they passed him by. The neighbors once again congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out. “What good fortune,” they said. The farmer replied yet again, “Maybe.”

I appreciate this story for one reason in particular. It illustrates the fact that we rarely, if ever, know enough to be able to accurately judge any circumstance as either good or bad. With all due respect to the farmer in this famous fable, however, I wonder if there isn’t a more positive way to respond to the circumstances that we encounter in life.

I realize that the farmer’s response was objective and non-resistant. And that certainly elicits a feeling of peace, which is wonderful. But to me, the farmer’s “maybe so, maybe not” attitude eliminates the possibility of feeling anything beyond peace . . . such as joy. And I believe that our spirits are in this world—and in these bodies—to experience happiness and joy, as well as peace.

If something happens that I think is good (even though I know it is just a subjective judgment on my part), I want to be able to experience all the good feelings that come along with that. And when things don’t seem to be going very well, I still want to experience good feelings! So how do I do that?

The answer is something that I have been mentioning in my messages a lot lately. I simply look at every situation that “appears” to be bad, and see it as a stepping stone to my highest good. That’s not just wishful thinking on my part. Similar to the circumstances described in the fable, it has been my experience time and time again that the possibility for good exists within every situation . . . and the divine flow is continually working on my behalf to manifest that good.

If you want a more positive and uplifting way to respond to life’s circumstances—a way that promotes feelings of happiness and joy, gratitude and thanksgiving—then I invite you to approach life differently than the farmer did in the version of the fable that you just read. I invite you, instead, to consider the example set by the farmer is this alternate version of the story:

There was once a wise old farmer who owned a prize horse. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came over to offer their condolences. "Such bad luck," they said sympathetically. "I believe there can be good in this," the farmer replied. A few days later the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. "How wonderful," the neighbors exclaimed. "Yes, it is good," replied the old man. The following day, the farmer’s son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown off, and broke his leg. Once again, the neighbors offered their sympathy, saying "How awful.” “I believe there can be good in this," answered the farmer one more time. The day after that, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son of the farmer had a broken leg, they passed him by. The neighbors once again congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out. “What good fortune,” they said. "Yes, life is good," the farmer replied. “Very good indeed!”

Here’s to thoroughly enjoying all the good things that happen in life . . . and even more than that . . . here’s to appreciating the constant possibility of good.

Steven

© 2008 by Steven Lane Taylor
Author of Row, Row, Row Your Boat:
A Guide for Living Life in the Divine Flow