It bears worth repeating, as we can all be reminded of living in the present moment and not allowing an outcome to taint our view moving forward.
Once upon a time, there was a Chinese farmer. One of his horses ran away.
His friends came by to console him. “We are so sorry to hear your horse has run away. It’s very unfortunate for you,” they said.
The farmer replied, “Maybe.”
The following week the horse came back and had eight wild horses with it.
The farmer let them in his gate with a grin.
Later on, everybody came back saying, “Wow, isn’t that lucky. What an awesome turn of events. You now have nine horses!” The farmer again said, “Maybe.”
A few days later, the farmer’s son tried to break one of the horses. While riding it, the son was thrown from the horse and broke his leg.
The farmers’ friends said, “Oh no! that’s too bad,” to which the farmer responded, “Maybe.”
A few days later, military officers came by to summon soldiers into the army. They rejected his son because of his broken leg.
Again the friends came by and said, “Isn’t that great!”
“Maybe,” he said.
We can all benefit from not defining each and every moment and labeling it either “good” or “bad.” Sometimes it just is and that’s just fine.