Bad Luck

Being back home and trying hard to get back into some routine some modicum of normality I find myself thinking back to other places I have lived. I suppose naturally I have even thought about where and when it all started. Because over the years the choices and decisions made in those days have brought me to where I am now.

This building depicted above was where a great many of the important decisions I made in my early life were made. There are some who read this will recognise this as Rosyth Parish Church. The people of this church played a large part in the decisions that shaped my whole life. 

While quietly thinking about this, and wondering what might have been different if I had made other choices way back then. 

This brought to mind the story of the Chinese Taoist Farmer. A story I return to often. 

There is a Chinese story of an old farmer who had an old horse for tilling his fields. 

One day the horse escaped into the hills and, when all the farmer's neighbours sympathised with the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied, 'Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?'

A week later the horse returned with a herd of wild horses from the hills and this time the neighbours congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His reply was, 'Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?'

Then, when the farmer's son was attempted to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone thought this very bad luck. Not the farmer, whose only reaction was, 'Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?' 

Some weeks later the army marched into the village and conscripted every able-bodied youth they found there. When they saw the farmer's son with his broken leg they let him off. Now was that good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?

So back to my early thoughts. Would life have been different? Who knows?

Good luck , bad luck, who knows? The reality of life is that we just have to make the very best of the day that lies before us. It really has little to do with good luck bad luck. It is about making decisions and making the very best of the actions of the day.

Have a great day.