There once was a village that had among its people a very wise old man. The villagers trusted this man to provide the answers to their questions and concerns. One day, a farmer from the village went to the wise man and said in a frantic tone, “Wise man, help me.
A horrible thing has happened. My ox has died and I have no animal to help me plow my field! Isn’t this the worst thing that could have possibly happened?” The wise old man replied, “Maybe so, maybe not.”
This story can change your life - Maybe So Maybe Not
The man hurried back to the village and reported to his neighbors that the wise man had gone mad. Surely this was the worst thing that could have happened. Why couldn’t he see this? The very next day, however, a strong, young horse was seen near the man’s farm. Because the man had no ox to rely on, he had the idea to catch the horse to replace his ox—and he did. How joyful the farmer was.
Plowing the field had never been easier. He went back to the wise man to apologize. “You were right, wise man. Losing my ox wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened. It was a blessing in disguise! I never would have captured my new horse had that not happened. You must agree that this is the best thing that could have happened.” The wise man replied once again, “Maybe so, maybe not.”
Not again, thought the farmer. Surely the wise guy had gone insane at this point. However, the farmer had no idea what was going to happen this time. A few days later the farmer’s son was riding the horse and was thrown off. He broke his leg and would not be able to help with the crop. Oh no, thought the man. Now we will starve to death.
Once again, the farmer went to the wise man. This time he said, “How did you know that capturing my horse was not a good thing? You were right again. My son is injured and won’t be able to help with the crop. This time, I'm confident that this is the worst thing that could have happened. This time, you must agree.”
But, just as he had done before, the Wiseman calmly looked at the farmer and in a compassionate tone replied once again, “Maybe so, maybe not.” Enraged that the wise man could be so ignorant, the farmer stormed back to the village. The next day troops arrived to take every able-bodied man to the war that had just broken out. The farmer’s son was the only young man in the village who didn’t have to go.
He would live, while the others would surely die. This simple story provides many powerful life lessons. Lesson 1: Get comfortable, not knowing the truth is, we don’t know what’s going to happen—we just think we do. Often we make a big deal out of something. We blow up scenarios in our minds about all the terrible things that are going to happen.
Most of the time we are wrong. If we keep our cool and stay open to possibilities, we can be reasonably certain that, eventually, all will be well. Lesson 2: Nothing is good or bad is impossible to tell whether anything that happens is good or bad. You never know what the consequences of misfortune or good fortune will be, as only time will tell the whole story. Things may look great at the start, but over time they may not become what you had imagined them to be.
Similarly, you feel bad about something but someday it could be one of the best things that happened to you. Everything changes. The universe is ever-changing. There is no room for judgment, for nothing is truly black and white. Lesson 3: Stop resisting change most often we resist change. We resist change with our egos and willpower, attempting to exert control over circumstances beyond our control.
We become conflicted and stressed out, tension and anxiety rule over our confused minds, and an inner war restricts our connection with a greater vision. The concept of emptying the mind and opening the heart to inner wisdom can be achieved when we leave aside our perceptions and our attachments to our version of the story. We need to learn to appreciate "this moment", "the present".
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This is the concept of living mindfully, to live fully present in each moment; not torn apart about the uncertainty of the future or the sorrows of the past. Sit back for a moment and say to yourself: "it would be interesting to see what happens next". Just as if you are watching a movie.
Trust that the "Universe is unfolding as it should" This story has helped me gain a deeper sense of the concept of mindfulness. To be able to forget the sorrows of my past and worry not about the uncertainty of the future — to be able to truly live in the present, and see life as not good or bad but just as it is.
And so I wonder, did the story do anything for you? Maybe so, maybe not. I have made an infographic summary of this story that you can download and set as your mobile wallpaper or take a printout and stick to one of your room's walls. So that you remember the story always. The link to download the image is given below in the description. Wish you all the very best.
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