It is all attitude

     I came across this story in a book called "The Tao of Daily Life":

In the northern frontier of ancient China, there lived a man who was particularly skilled in raising horses. People knew of him and called him Sai Ong - literally "Old Frontiersman."

One day, for some unknown reason, his horse got loose and ran off into the Hu territory beyond the Great Wall. The Hu tribes were hostile toward the Chinese, so everyone assumed the horse was as good as lost.

Horses were very valuable to the people living at the frontier, so they regarded this loss as a great financial setback. They visited Sai Ong to express their sympathies, but Sai Ong's elderly father surprised them by remaining calm and unaffected. Much to their puzzlement, the old man asked: "Who says this cannot be some sort of blessing?"

Months later, the horse returned to the stable with a companion - a fine steed of the Hu breed. It was as if Sai Ong's wealth suddenly doubled. Everyone came by to marvel at the new horse and to congratulate him, but again his elderly father showed no great emotions. He said: "Who says this cannot be some sort of misfortune?"

Sai Ong's son enjoyed riding and took the new horse out for a ride. An accident occurred, causing him to fall badly and break a leg. Again sympathetic people came to console the family, and again they saw that the grandfather remained as calm as ever. Just like before, he told them: "Who says this cannot be some sort of blessing?"

One year later, the Hu people amassed and crossed the border into China. All the able-bodied young men were summoned into the army to take up arms in defense. Fierce battles ensued, resulting in heavy casualties. Among the inhabitants of the northern frontier, nine out of ten men died.

Sai Ong's son did not go into battle due to his broken leg. Because of this, he was spared that terrible fate, and his family survived the war intact.

     The basic moral of this story is that sometimes what seems like a tragedy is really something positive that happens. Some time back I saw a story on a 20/20 type show about a woman that fell and a knitting needle jammed into her heart. During surgery to remove the needle they discovered that she also had breast cancer. She's survived both, but her friends saw it as tragedy telling her how terrible it was that both happened. Her reply was the needle saved her life.

     Things do happen to people, a follower of Tao would wait and see where it leads the person knowing that there may be benefits to something unfortunate. One can look at a situation as negative or find the positive, it is up to the person to decide.

Knitting needle story