The Zen Farmer
- Business and zen, personal growth
- business, change, changelife, English, happiness, motivation, zen
- 24 Febbraio 2023
A Zen Story For A Calm & Open Mind
Once upon a time, the son of a farmer broke his leg trying to ride untamed horses.
“Now he can’t help your farming,” said the neighbors, “What terrible luck you have!”
“We’ll see,” the man replied.
The following week, military officials came to the village to conscript young men into the army. Seeing the boy’s broken leg, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.
“Such great news. You must be so happy!”
The man smiled and said once again.
“We’ll see.”
Do we live in good or bad times?
Sometimes benefits may come with unintended consequences, but also the opposite is true. There are moments in which we struggle through bad times, then something unexpected happens and we enjoy the positive aspects.
A change of perspective
Last year I was working ten hours per day for my company when, without warning, the supposed-to-be good news I was expecting turned out to be a bunch of lies. I spent three months questioning what could have gone wrong, before moving forward.
Against all odds?
I decided to quit my job, with no opportunities knocking on my door. Sure, I had been teaching for years, and still, the idea of my school seemed impossible. But I was ready to chase new opportunities, and the relationship and connections I built helped me a lot.
Drinking the half-full glass
There are things you can’t control or change. Sometimes they bring good news, sometimes bad, and this is the moral of the story. But I decided to beat the odds, and luckily it worked. Otherwise, I would have changed my plans. I accepted I can’t control everything a long time ago.
Life is more about how we react to things, and see what will happen.
Matteo Felici
