Recently, I was reminded of this story about events and their meaning. I had first come across this story a few years ago in a course called A Life of Happiness and Fulfilment on Coursera. Brilliant course to say the least. Dr. Rajagopal Raghunathan has got happiness to a science and I really think that anyone taking the course will benefit from it. The story goes like this….

A man and his son lived in a village in a beautiful valley surrounded by wooded hills.   They were very happy, but they were also very poor.

The man was enterprising and he wanted to be rich. He decided he will buy a stallion and will become rich by using that stallion for ploughing his small field and also by breeding.

He did not have any money to buy the stallion, so he borrowed the needful from his neighbours and bought a stallion. It was a beautiful animal and everyone who saw the stallion commented on the Man’s choice. The neighbours said – “You have made a fine purchase and you are sure to reap the rewards in the times to come. It is such a good thing.”

The man simply shrugged his shoulders and said – “Good thing, bad thing, who knows.”

It so happened that the very night he brought the stallion to his home, the horse kicked the paddock down and ran away. 

Next morning all the neighbours came to visit and they poured sympathy as well as some scorn, specially those who had lent him the money.

They said, “You were planning to be rich and now that your horse has run away, you’re even poorer. You are poor and now in debt. It is terrible.”

The man shrugged his shoulder and said “Good thing, bad thing, who knows.”

The horse that had run away, fell in with a group of wild horses in the jungle. In a few days, the horse led the wild horses close to where the man was. Surprised, the man immediately got to work with his son and was able to entice ten of them into the now repaired stable. The escape was now no longer possible for the horses.

All of a sudden, he was a very wealthy man by the standards of his village.

The neighbours again came to visit, and there was some admiration and a touch of envy as they congratulated him on his good fortune.

“You are one lucky man. We thought you were destitute but now you’re rich.”

Again the man looked at them and shrugged his shoulders and said, “Good thing, bad thing, who knows.”

Few days later, the man and his son started to train the wild horses so they could be put to work or be sold at the market. Unfortunately, one of the horses threw the man’s son down and stomped on his leg. The son’s leg broke and even though it healed later, it couldn’t heal back completely and it became crooked.

All the neighbours came around once again and started talking as usual.

“He was such a fine young lad, now he will never be able to walk straight without a limp. You will not be able to find a girl to marry him. How unfortunate!”

Yet the man shrugged his shoulder and said, ”Good thing, bad thing, who knows.”

A few months passed. A news came to the sleepy village that the king of the country has declared war on a neighbouring country and press gangs are out going through all the villages. The king wanted all young men to serve in his army and so the king’s men were rounding up all the able-bodied young men from the entire kingdom and will soon reach this village.

The press gangs took all the neighbour’s sons while the man’s son was left back home as he had a crooked leg. Fearing the fate of their children, the neighbours came with tears in their eyes and they said,

“Oh, our sons have been taken away. We don’t know if we will ever see them again, but you still have your son.”

“You are such a fortunate father.”

And by now we all know what the man said back to the neighbours, don’t we?

“Good Thing, Bad Thing, Who Knows.”

The story of the man goes on like that forever…..

This story is a reminder of the fact that we do not know how things are going to be and whether the events that are happening right now are good or bad. In these uncertain times of COVID-19, the story is a reminder that when events are beyond our control, it is wise to let the events run without much worrying about them. Earlier, during difficult times I used to remind myself of another phrase from another great story – “This too shall pass.” However, that phrase is stoic in its impact. What I mean is that if you are going with difficult times, “This too shall pass” tells you that it will pass and you can endure. Whereas, “Good thing, bad thing, who knows” has this element of hope – even when you are in despair over some events in your life, this story tells you that it may not be all bad, it may actually be all good. 

We don’t know what will be the long term impact of the present crisis on us, on society, on our culture, habits. Maybe all of this will lead to major changes. Maybe all of us will need to go through a lot of pain to adjust to the new realities. But then – good thing, bad thing, who knows…

Please stay safe and take care of yourself and your loved ones. May our lives be richer because you took time to read this post.