Who Knows

There’s an old Taoist parable that you may have heard about a farmer. It goes, and I’m paraphrasing here, a long time ago a farmer’s horse won a prize at a local show. His neighbor goes to congratulate him, but the farmer replies, “Who knows what’s good or bad?” Next day, someone comes by to the farm and steals the award-winning horse. The farmer’s neighbor hears about it and says, “What a terrible thing!” To which the farmer replies, “Who knows what’s good or bad?” On the next day, the horse gets away from the thief and comes back to the farmer, bringing with it a whole herd of wild mares. The neighbor hears about it and goes to congratulate the farmer, who responds again with “Who knows what’s good or bad?” So once the horses are all on the farmer’s property, his son goes out and starts training them. But he has an accident during the training and has one of his legs broken. The farmer’s neighbor hears about it and comes by to offer his condolences to the farmer, who gave his customary response. After a week passes, the Chinese army comes in, forcing able bodied men to enlist. The farmer’s son, due to being unable to walk, isn’t forced into the army. His neighbor stares out at the passing army and thinks to himself, “Who knows what’s good or bad?” The story usually goes on to say that the neighbor realizes that the farmer is a Taoist sage. I don’t know whether that’s true or not, but I think the parable’s message is still effective today. So often people live their lives seeking out “good” experiences and trying to avoid “bad” ones, to the extent that many people refuse to seek out good experiences for fear of coming by bad ones. But those things that are usually called “bad,” “negative,” or “unfortunate” are inevitable parts of life. We have no reason to seek them out, sure, but there doesn’t seem to be any sense in trying to avoid the inevitable, either. And if we allow ourselves to become upset when these things happen and try desperately to avoid them, then we only end up expending a lot of effort and becoming upset eventually anyway. The farmer in the old Taoist story understands that he has to accept what happens regardless of whether or not it’s something that makes him happy. There are so many things in our world which can cause us to become afraid for the future, which can discourage us or force us to worry. It’s important for us, not just as Jedi but as individuals, to overcome that kind of existential dread. Refraining from something due to being afraid of the possible outcomes or, worse, not recognizing the good things that happen to us on a daily basis because we’re too busy planning our way around any holes in the road, could very well cause us to miss out on life. All kinds of experiences are out there. Who knows what’s good or bad, anyway?