Have you heard this parable about a Chinese farmer? It’s one of my favourites.  Here’s one version of it

A Chinese rice farmer decided he wanted to earn some more money, so he took out a loan and bought a horse.  This horse ran away through a break in the fence.

The neighbours all came to the farmer ‘That’s bad news, you’re so unlucky.’

The farmer replies ‘Good news, bad news - who knows?’

Some time later, the horse returns, along with some magnificent, wild stallions.  The neighbours are all happy for the farmer.  ‘This is good news, you must be ecstatic.’ 

‘Good news, bad news - who knows?’

The farmer’s son has his leg broken by one of the wild horses when feeding it.  The neighbours come around again, and guess what the farmer says. 

‘Good news, bad news - who knows?’

Some months after, the emperor needs able-bodied men for war.  The farmer’s son is spared transcription.

‘Good news, bad news - who knows?’

And so on.

 

A personal story

Many personal memories come to mind when I hear this story and I’d like to share one with you.

After my first year of Naturopathy studies, I ended up changing schools due to a mouldy building.

I was so upset and frustrated, I didn’t get all my subjects credited, I really liked all the friends I had made at school as well as the teachers.  And to top it off, my health had taken a step back from the mould. 

But guess what, it was one of the best things I did.  From changing schools I maintained my existing friendships, made some more fantastic friends and still enjoy the teachers.

 

Funnily enough, I also met my beautiful partner through this mouldy situation. 

We were both studying at the old school, though didn’t know each other.  We got chatting over how the school was handling the mould situation and our personal wellness strategies for it.

Some time later, we both transferred to SSNT, our new school, though she’ll tell you she transferred first (She actually did).

If I had gotten full credits for my subjects I wouldn’t have been in class with her and had the chance to develop our friendship which would then turn into a relationship.

#mouldlovestory get it trending yo

 

Who knows where this will go

While the particulars of my story may be unique, I’m sure many of you have experienced a similar ebb and flow from certain situations.

At the time, I thought it was a terrible situation, but right now, I’m enjoying the situation that resulted from it.

Do I know how this will progress down the line? Absolutely not.  So rather than labeling something as good or bad, just see it as a situation that can ebb and flow, bring you both joy and misery and a whole range of emotions for that matter.

The reflection

Look back.  What is something you thought was bad news at the time and turned out to be positive down the line.  How about the opposite, something you thought of as good news that ended up being bad news.  What’s to say that that bad news then doesn’t progress back to good news or vice versa?

Perhaps, we don’t need to label things as good or bad, because we really don’t know how they’re going to pan out for us in the future, or even what we’ll be able to make of them in the future.  It may be uncomfortable, annoying or even ecstatic right now. 

Feel these feelings, but perhaps forego the label.

Is there a situation that came to mind when reading this? What label had you given it? Are you still feeling the effects of this situation?