Lessons From A Chinese Farmer

Alan Watts once told a fable of a Chinese Farmer. He went on to explain how events in life that might normally be considered as lucky or unlucky are not always what they seem. The story goes along these lines:

Once upon a time there was a Chinese farmer, who lost a horse. It ran away. And all the neighbors came around that evening and said, "That’s too bad.” And he said, “Maybe.”

The next day the horse came back, bringing seven wild horses with it. And all the neighbors came around and said, “Oh, that's great isn't it?” And he said, “Maybe.”

The next day his son was attempting to tame one of these horses and ride it. He was thrown and broke his leg. And all the neighbors came around in the evening and said, “Oh, dear that’s too bad.” And the farmer said, “Maybe.” 

The following day the conscription officers came around looking for people to recruit into the army and they rejected his son, because he had a broken leg. And all the people came around and said, “Well that's great isn't it?” And he said, “Maybe.” 

The story is comic and it illustrates how events that one would normally judge as good or bad may have no relation to how things develop further along. Alan Watts continues saying this:

"It is really impossible to tell whether anything that happens is good or bad. Because you never know what will be the consequences of misfortune, or you never know what will be the consequences of good fortune."

Alan Watts is right when he refers to the neutrality of events. Life has no built-in meaning. This means that no single event is good or bad. The constant weighing of events actually brings a lot of unnecessary stress and anxiety. 

Learning to accept events as they come to your life is somemthing that meditation can be of great use.

However there is a second layer to it that Watts didn’t mention. He didn't take into account that your state of being shapes your reality. There have been numerous scientific findings in the field of quantum physics that confirm this, which I will delve into more depth in future posts.

So then, by taking a positive perspective on events it will be more likely that you attract positive experiences as well, hence fulfilling the Law of Attraction. It is possible that the officers didn't even show up if he was not attracting that.

 Just like I mentioned in my previous post, the first step is to recognize the neutrality of things. From there you can use your power of focus to attract the positive experiences.

Story Credits.

Image Credits: from animator Steve Agnos.