On the Mediterranean

After-dinner conversation. Topic: you never know. Ancient Chinese folktale:

A farmer had a beautiful horse who was the envy of all his neighbors. One day the horse disappeared for no apparent reason. His neighbors came by to comfort him. They said, "We're so sorry to hear about your horse. This is such bad news!
The farmer said, "We'll see."
A week later, his horse returned with twenty beautiful wild horses. The neighbors said to him, "Congratulations! This is such good news!"
The farmer said, "We'll see."
One day soon after, the farmer's son was attempting to break in one of the wild horses, but the horse threw him off and he broke his leg.
The neighbors said to the farmer, "We're so sorry. This is such bad news. You must be so upset."
The farmer said, "We'll see."
War broke in the country and all young men were being drafted. That is, all young men except the farmer's son, who had a broken leg. The neighbors said to the farmer, "Congratulations! This is such good news!"
The farmer said, "We'll see."

The after-dinner conversation came to an agreeable conclusion: In life, we too easily decide that something is ultimately good or bad, based upon a present moment reality. In fact, many things that have appeared to be bad or even terrible have led to something very good in our lives. i.e.-celebrate or grieve depending on the situation, but don't give up on the ultimate goodness of Divine intentions. We are all on a journey, but not alone.

If you want to think more about this, I suggest Wayne Dyer's book I Can See Clearly Now.

[After a sabbatical from writing for the last several months, doing other things, I am returning to my blog.]