The White Horse (a variation of “The Old Man and the White Horse”)

Over the years I have encountered a few stories that really speak to me. This story reminds me to hold lightly my ideas about “THE WAY THINGS ARE” and to remember that there are forces at work that I don’t know about.

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Once there was a farmer who lived with his son and one day they found a beautiful white horse. The people of the village said, “Such a beautiful horse, you are so lucky!” The farmer gave the horse a handful of grain and said, “We’ll see…”
 
Sometime later the son and the horse were clearing a field when the horse took fright, and the son fell and broke his arm. The villagers said, “Oh, too bad your son broke his arm, that horse was bad luck after all.” The farmer took his son to the doctor and said, “We’ll see…”
 
A week later the army came to the village and conscripted all the young men except the farmer’s son who had a broken arm. The villagers said, “You’re so lucky, your son didn’t have to go to war!” Putting a saddle on the horse the farmer said, “We’ll see…”

As humans we have meaning-making minds, but in this story the farmer declines to presume he knows what events mean.  In his openness, the farmer demonstrates great skill in riding the wave of existence, staying in the present moment without grasping at this or that.
 
Sometimes in my life difficult situations arise, situations that I’m likely to judge as dire before I even take a moment to breathe. One of my growing edges is to wait and see…