Things Happen For You, Not To You

One day, an old farmer’s horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they consoled.

“Perhaps,” the farmer replied.

The next morning, the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “What great luck!” the neighbors exclaimed.

“Perhaps,” replied the old man.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune. “Such bad luck.”

“Perhaps,” answered the farmer.

The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.

“Perhaps,” said the farmer… [“Maybe, Said the Farmer,”awakin.org, accessed April 23, 2019, bit.ly/2RmRSu1]

The wise farmer understood that life events often happen for you, not to you. That when something bad happens, something good will probably come of it, but your eyes need to be open to see it. As Forrest Gump famously quipped, “Life is like a box of chocolates. We never know what we are going to get.” But we can control our thinking into believing it will all work out for us. When we do this, it usually does have a strange way of working out. When we have a chance to be grateful, be grateful.

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