There is an ancient zen myth, which discusses a farmer who has a series of fortunate and unfortunate events that arise throughout his life. Although the farmer does not judge these events, the neighbors do. They are quick to label the events as good luck or bad luck, the farmer always responds with the phrase: “bad luck, good luck, who knows?”
Oftentimes we are quick to judge when things happen if we are having a good or bad day, how the rest of the day will play out. We want to be like the neighbor and label it. But it’s important to not have judgmental thoughts of what is out there. These thoughts can become self-fulfilling prophecies, which is great if things are going well but can be a downward spiral if they are not.
This was the case last week when I awoke. I had a flight from Santa Barbara, I had a leisurely morning waking up an hour later than my usual work day: 545 am. My 15 ½ year old dog Bella was slightly overworked with her cough, I think her psychic abilities knew I was leaving. But I was able to calm her down. We both were relaxed, and I generally don’t check my messages before my spiritual practice is over, but this time I did. My dog sitter sent a message at 5am. She would not be able to be at her home on time, requesting I drop off my dog an hour later. This would have made me a bit late to the airport. It was 645 am. I started to freak out sending her several messages, but opted to call her to see if I could drop her off now. It was then 7am. I got to the house at 710, after a man was honking at me that I was in his parking spot. I reparked the car, yelling “I’m just going to be one minute,” dropped off Bella, and I found out her son would have left the house at 715. I went back home, showered, and went to my pending doctor’s appointment. I realized that since I didn’t have Bella, I didn’t have to run back home and would have an hour to spare in Santa Barbara before needing to get to the airport. Throughout the morning, it flowed like this. Something that could have been bad to something that balanced it out. I understood that life fluctuates like this. It’s not good, nor bad. It is. Could I go with the flow of what the world was giving me without labeling it?
And because I was able to, life continued to offer me the vissisitudes of the day. I could appreciate all that it was. Bad luck, good luck, who knows?
If you want to read a deeper version of the zen myth, check out this link below.
https://mindfulness.com/mindful-living/are-these-bad-times-or-good-times-the-story-of-the-zen-farmer
It Only Takes A Smile 