The Parable of the Chinese Farmer

By Veronica Baginski

Years ago, I heard the parable of the Chinese Farmer on a podcast. The parable goes like this….

A farmer and his family in ancient China owned a horse. His neighbors said how lucky he was to have such a fine horse to pull his plow through the fields. The farmer said, “Maybe yes, maybe no.”

One day the horse broke through the gate and ran away. His neighbors came around to lament his terrible loss, saying it was a terrible bit of bad luck. The farmer said, “Maybe yes, maybe no.”

Days later the horse returned to the farm along with seven wild horses. His neighbors came around to exclaim his remarkable good fortune, saying, “Now you are rich!” The farmer said, “Maybe yes, maybe no.”

A few weeks later the farmer’s son was training the new wild horses and fell off and broke his leg. The neighbors came around to commiserate his misfortune and said, “What bad luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe yes, maybe no.”

The next week the army came around taking all the able-bodied young men from the village to fight in the war. The farmer’s son with the broken leg was left behind. The neighbors now lamented the loss of their sons and commented on how lucky the farmer was to have his son.

And the story continues…

It’s so easy to judge a situation at the time it happens, we immediately categorize something as good or bad. Yet, everyone knows someone who went through a terrible life event and came out better on the other side. They broke up with someone and ended up meeting the love of their life. They lost a job and ended up starting a company that brought them financial freedom. They experience a global pandemic that disrupts their entire life and ended up creating incredible memories with their family by working from home.

I love the story of the Chinese Farmer because it shows how life choices can result in anything. We cannot predict how things will turn out. We should make decisions with the best information we have and trust what is meant to be, will be.