Maybe so, maybe not.
A Tough Life.
I’ll be honest: my life has been tough.
I grew up with little direction and parents who struggled with their own problems. I later found my calling as a California Highway Patrol Officer.
But then I faced an incident that nearly literally broke me.
I couldn’t recover, mentally or physically. I couldn’t return to normal life or to my calling.
But then something interesting happened.
I began to wonder: is this really a bad thing? Why is it bad not to know what the future holds? Perhaps this could lead to something others might look back on and see, in some dark but logical way, as a good turn in my life.
This situation reminded me of the Parable of the Chinese Farmer:
A farmer and his son had a beloved horse that helped them earn a living.
One day, the horse ran away. Their neighbors exclaimed, “Your horse ran away! What terrible luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not.”
A few days later, the horse returned, bringing several wild horses with it. The neighbors shouted, “Your horse has returned and brought more horses! What great luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not.”
Later that week, the farmer’s son tried to break one of the wild horses. It threw him and broke his leg. The neighbors cried, “Your son broke his leg! What terrible luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not.”
A few weeks later, soldiers marched through town, recruiting all the boys for the army. They didn’t take the farmer’s son because he had a broken leg.
The neighbors shouted, “Your boy is spared! What tremendous luck!” To which the farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”
It’s easy to label things as “good” or “bad” in the moment. The truth is, we rarely know how things will play out in the long run.
My life altering experience seemed like a disaster, but it revealed something important I might have missed otherwise. A new perspective on life.
What looks like bad luck today might just be a blessing in disguise tomorrow.
Hugs through cyberspace!
Stay woke, my reader folk.
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