An
Old Chinese Taoist Story
A very old Chinese Taoist story describes a farmer in a poor
country village. His neighbors considered him very
well-to-do. One year the weather was very good and his crops
grew strong and all his neighbours told him how lucky he was
to have such a fine crop and he replied “maybe”.
One day, the day before he was going to start the harvest, a
herd of wild horses came running off the plains and trampled
on all his crops. His neighbours came round and said how
unlucky he was to lose his fine crops. The farmer replied
“maybe”.
The next day the farmer’s son went out with a length of rope
and caught a wild stallion and three mares, and the
neighbours came round to admire the horses and told the
farmer how lucky he was. The farmer said “maybe”.
In the morning the farmer’s son started to break in the
horses and no sooner had he mounted the stallion than it
threw him, and he broke his leg. The neighbours carried him
indoors and commiserated with the farmer, saying how unlucky
he was that his only son was so badly injured. The farmer
said “maybe”.
The next day the Emperor’s army came to the village on the
way to fight a great battle and all the able-bodied young
men were press-ganged into the army. But the farmer’s son
was not taken because of his broken leg. All his neighbours
told the farmer how lucky he was that his son had been saved
from the army and the farmer said “maybe”.
Try applying 'maybe' to everything that has happened in your
life.
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