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Entries in Equanimity (19)

Tuesday
Apr252023

Good luck? Maybe.

Bad luck? Maybe.

Once upon a time, a peasant had a horse. When the horse ran away, the peasant’s neighbors came to console him for his bad luck. He answered, “Maybe.” 

The next day, the horse came back and with it, six wild horses. The neighbors came to congratulate him on such good luck. The peasant said, “Maybe.” 

The day after, his son tried to ride one of the wild horses. But he was thrown off and broke his leg. Once again, the neighbors shared his misfortune. The peasant said, “Maybe.” 

The day after, soldiers came to conscript the youth of the village. Because of his son’s broken leg the soldiers passed him over. When the neighbors came to congratulate him on his good fortune, the peasant said again, “Maybe.” 

As we see in this story, good luck and bad luck are ever changing, like two sides of a coin flipping back and forth. Whatever we encounter, we need to view it with equanimity, not judge it, and accept it with flexibility.

Wednesday
Oct132021

Friday
Feb052021

There’s no need to fuss.

Everything is “perfect.” 

This phrase doesn’t mean our day is wonderful and requires scant improvement. (Nor does it mean the speaker lives in an alternate universe.) The phrase means that everything has transpired precisely the way it was supposed to.

Three unexpected projects dumped on your desk by a vacation-bound supervisor? Perfect!

Your name added to the updated volunteer list after you had notified the group of your future unavailability? Perfect as well.

The perfect outcome isn’t the fantastic one we imagined, but an appropriate one. There’s no point fussing over how things can be different. If they are to be different, they will be. But none of that is happening. Let’s accept reality and quit wasting time and energy on our disappointment. Instead, tell yourself “It’s perfect!”

Thankfully, most things happening in our lives can indeed become more bearable, and sometimes even humorous, when we summon forth our newfound motto.

Tuesday
Dec292020

Friday
Dec252020

Good luck? Maybe.

Bad luck? Maybe. 

Once upon a time, a peasant had a horse. After the horse ran away, the peasant’s neighbors came to console him for his bad luck.

He answered, “Maybe.”

The next day, the horse came back and with it, six wild horses. The neighbors came to congratulate him on such good luck.

The peasant said, “Maybe.”

The day after, his son tried to ride one of the wild horses. But he was thrown off and broke his leg. Once again, the neighbors shared his misfortune.

The peasant said, “Maybe.”

The day after, soldiers came to conscript the youth of the village. Because of his son's broken leg the soldiers passed him over. When the neighbors came to congratulate him on his good fortune, the peasant said again, “Maybe.”

As we see in this story, good luck and bad luck are ever changing, like two sides of a coin flipping back and forth. Whatever we encounter, we need to view it with equanimity, not judge it, and accept it with flexibility.