Adventures with Ideas: Truth, Beauty and the Paradoxes of Life
Juliet Bennett's Blog
  • About
  • My Story
  • Research
  • Photography
  • Modeling
  • 2009
  • 2010
  • 2011
  • 2012
  • 2013
  • 2014
  • 2015
  • About
  • My Story
  • Research
  • Photography
  • Modeling
  • 2009
  • 2010
  • 2011
  • 2012
  • 2013
  • 2014
  • 2015
  • Home
  • Peace
  • A story of (mis)fortune: the farmer and his son

A story of (mis)fortune: the farmer and his son

8 Oct ’18 1 Comment Written by Juliet Bennett

I have been trying to remember where I read or heard this story, perhaps Eckhart Tolle or Deepak Chopra. After a big of Googling (key words like “farmer”, “horse”, “neighbour”, “son”), I discovered this story is claimed by various sources as Zen Buddhist, Chinese Proverb, Taoist and Sufi.

The story goes something like this:

There once lived a farmer and his son. One day their horse ran away. Their neighbours came by and said “Oh, that’s terrible news.” The farmer said, “maybe”.

A few weeks later the horse returned with seven wild horses. And the neighbours came by and said “Wow, you must be thrilled.” The farmer said, “maybe”.

The next day the son was riding one of the wild horses and was thrown off and broke his leg. The neighbours came by and said, “Oh, what bad luck.” The farmer said, “maybe”.

The next day a conscription was announced and the military officers through the village. Due to his broken leg the farmer’s son did not have to go to war. The neighbours came by and said, “Oh what good fortune.” The farmer said, “maybe.”

We cannot know what good fortunes may come out of misfortunes. 

After a bit more research I discovered this story has been re-told by Tolle, Chopra, Paulo Coelho and, of course, Alan Watts! I often think of this story, and I’m happy to now see there is a reason it has stuck with me and many others as well.

Paulo Coelho also has a longer telling of the story on his blog:

A traditional Sufi story

Peace
Similar posts
  • Why the right (brain) is right… — Are you a right-brain or left-brain type of person? Is there such a thing? Are there differences between our left and right brain hemispheres? Does it matter? Research into the left and right brain hemispheres was popularised in the 1970s, it exaggerated and reified the two sides of the brain as if some people were “right-brain” dominant: creative, image-based, intuitive, emotional; and other people [...]
  • Alan Watts’ ‘dramatic model’ and the ... — My latest academic publication – on the work of my favourite philosopher of all time: Alan Watts, and how his “dramatic model of the universe” can contribute to peace 🙂 Abstract This article explores the contribution of Alan Watts’ ‘dramatic model of the universe’ to the pursuit of peace. It locates Watts’ critique of dominant Western worldviews alongside process philosophers, ecologists and [...]
  • “Seizing an Alternative: Toward... — After two years of anticipation, in June this year I attended a conference called “Seizing an Alternative: Toward an Ecological Civilization”, which brought together many of my favourite scholars. I was like a teenager anticipating a music festival with all their favourite bands. Such a geek! Around 2000 people attended the conference from around the world, splitting into 12 sections [...]
  • Farming practices as a national secur... — Earlier this year I had the great privilege and honour of having lunch with quantum physicist turned environmental activist and feminist Dr Vandana Shiva. Dr Shiva won the Sydney Peace Prize in 2010, and was returning to Sydney as part of an Australian-New Zealand tour warning about the long-term consequences of globalised farming methods. I attempted to get an article [...]
  • I’ve gone organic, and this is ... — I’ve gone organic, well, where an easy enough choice is available for not a completely unaffordable price. I’m trying to go to the Marrickville farmers markets on Sundays, to buy a box of ethical vegies, fruits, meats, and other products and support more local farmers and small business. Why? It is a stretch to say that buying locally grown organic [...]
What is life really about?

1 Comment

  1. Rachel
    13 Oct ’18    

    A Sufi story
    I Loved reading this, hopeful and realistic at the same time.
    Glad to see you are still writing x

    I miss philosophical life discussions – why are we hear? … it is a big question.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

TRUTH

BEAUTY

ADVENTURE

ART

PEACE

  • Popular
  • Recent
  • Comments
  • Is “God” a Fractal?
    15 Feb ’11
  • Is Lindt chocolate slave chocolate?
    11 Sep ’09
  • Creativism – a philosophy for life
    10 Sep ’09
  • Free Documentaries: The Truth Is Free
    17 Apr ’10
  • Coming to grips with the elephant in the room
    28 Jun ’10
  • Sex or chess? Peace, the world’s trump card
    13 Apr ’10
  • A short biography
    2 Sep ’09
  • Alan Watts Fan Club
    3 Dec ’12
  • Optimum Trajectory, swimming against the current, and man who stare at goats.
    4 Aug ’10
  • The Very Short Life and Times of Me and Kombi Xee
    23 Feb ’11
  • A story of (mis)fortune: the farmer and his son
    8 Oct ’18
  • What is life really about?
    1 Mar ’17
  • Why the right (brain) is right…
    22 Feb ’17
  • New life: reflections on being a new mum
    29 Dec ’16
  • Orwellian Australia: the “[Un]Fairer Parental Leave Bill 2015”
    1 May ’16
  • Alan Watts’ ‘dramatic model’ and the pursuit of peace
    18 Mar ’16
  • A new lens to view the world: the world as process
    14 Jan ’16
  • 2015 in review
    1 Jan ’16
  • “Seizing an Alternative: Toward an Ecological Civilization”
    18 Sep ’15
  • Havana: Aesthetics of an old city in changing Communist Cuba
    26 Aug ’15
  • Rachel says
    A Sufi story I Loved reading this, hopeful and realistic at the sam..
  • Motewolonisq Art says
    I have had love for this post in 2012. Since then, my mind has expan..
  • Ricardo Eguia Valderrama says
    Cuando se tiene conciencia del espacio-tiempo (miles de millones de ..
  • Juliet Bennett says
    Hi Desmond, sadly, I did not get an answer to my last email :(
  • Juliet Bennett says
    Thanks Alexander! Very much Watts-inspired, but I believe I put them..
  • Juliet Bennett says
    Hi Molefe, I'm still on this journey of learning! You could start wi..
  • alexander Kesselaar says
    Accept your self, just as you are. Accept the world, just as it is...
  • molefe phillip seshabela says
    my name is Molefe phillip Seshabela,i am 34 year old , from Limpopo ..
  • Desmond Sequeira says
    From another lover of Lndt chocolate: Just read your blog on Lindt ..
  • Daftar Tembak Ikan says
    Hi there, yup this paragraph is genuinely nice and I have learned lo..

Adventures with Ideas... on Facebook

Archives

Categories

  • Academic (35)
  • Adventure (119)
  • Beauty (23)
  • Featured Posts (10)
  • Peace (123)
  • Random Life Stuff (101)
  • Truth (163)
Constitutional Recognition

Rights of Indigenous Peoples: A Personal Statement

As a "non-indigenous" Australian living on what was once the land of the Cadigal and Wangal Wangal communities, I wish to acknowledge the inter-generational responsibility that I feel toward the colonial past. As a beneficiary of "White Australia", to the Eora people of Sydney, I request your forgiveness. I stand in solidarity with your rightful demands to self determination and active participation in governmental decisions, and I hope I may learn from your eco-spiritual connection. May we, as Tom Trevorrow of the Ngarrindjeri puts it, learn to 'respect, care and share' the gifts that our planet offers us.

Tags

Alan Watts Atheism Big History Bridge Series Central America Chocolate Conflict Transformation Creativism Ecology Europe God Health India India/Nepal inspiration Life in Oz Life philosophy Meaning of life Modeling My Brazilian My Christian Journey Narrative Narratology Occupy optimal trajectory Panentheism peace philosophy Photography Politics population Potentialism poverty religion slavery social construction South America Structural Violence The Pyramid Travel United States War What is God Wikileaks Yoga

Donation

evolve theme by Theme4Press  •  Powered by WordPress