Many a times in our life, we draw conclusions prematurely or may be based after one incident. But, are we right in our conclusions? In the process, we may miss many essential information that would have otherwise helped us in our judgments. Are our judgments un-biased?
The same holds good when we get bogged by a defeat. We seldom stand un-biased as our emotions overrule our thoughts. None of us are exception to it. One small defeat is enough for us to go down!. A serious question for which, am sure many of us would like to get an answer.
Few days back, I came across an interesting story that aptly matched this. This is the story of a poor Chinese farmer who had no asset except his beautiful lovely white horse and a good for nothing son. All the villagers envied his priceless possession - the horse. Even the king coveted his treasure. Everyone went up to him and said " You are lucky, you have a beautiful horse". The people asked him if he would sell the horse to them and were ready to pay a high price. The farmer smilingly refused to sell. The poor farmer a composed man did not show any reaction and said, " It is neither good nor bad".
One morning, the horse was found missing in the stable. The villagers saw the horse missing and said, " you are a fool. Someone might have robbed the horse. We warned you! See, you missed a great opportunity to make money!; See, now you have a misfortune!". The old man said, " Don't respond quickly. It is not in the stable. That is all we know. The rest of the statements are judgments".
Not admitting, the villagers said that he has been cursed. The old man said, "whether it is a curse or a blessing, we do not know. So, let us not comment." After a few days, the horse returned back to the stable - not alone but with a dozen of horses. Now the villagers said, " Oh, wow!, You certainly are blessed!.. See, now you have lots of horses!. Lucky guy you are! We are sorry, we said it was a curse; now it is a blessing!". The woodcutter farmer said,"No one knows whether it is a curse or a blessing!. I am content with what I know."
One day, his son wanted to tame the horse. He climbed on it and fell down from the horse and broke his leg. This time, the farmers called the poor man, a misfortune. Now there is no one to help you. Composed farmer said the same thing. They all thought he was senile.
Soon the king announced the country is engaging in a war against its neighboring nation and that all the young men in the village were required to join the army!. A war in which they lost and all young men died. The moaning villagers came this time again to say, "You are lucky at least your son is alive". The farmer a little annoyed said, " Again, do not say this. Say that their sons had to go to war and that this farmer's son did not. Only God knows whether it is a blessing or a curse".
How true it is!. It is a great inspiring story for all of us across ages as we are victims of judging people easily and incidents easily... A mind refreshing story indeed...
Signing off
Hema
The same holds good when we get bogged by a defeat. We seldom stand un-biased as our emotions overrule our thoughts. None of us are exception to it. One small defeat is enough for us to go down!. A serious question for which, am sure many of us would like to get an answer.
Few days back, I came across an interesting story that aptly matched this. This is the story of a poor Chinese farmer who had no asset except his beautiful lovely white horse and a good for nothing son. All the villagers envied his priceless possession - the horse. Even the king coveted his treasure. Everyone went up to him and said " You are lucky, you have a beautiful horse". The people asked him if he would sell the horse to them and were ready to pay a high price. The farmer smilingly refused to sell. The poor farmer a composed man did not show any reaction and said, " It is neither good nor bad".
One morning, the horse was found missing in the stable. The villagers saw the horse missing and said, " you are a fool. Someone might have robbed the horse. We warned you! See, you missed a great opportunity to make money!; See, now you have a misfortune!". The old man said, " Don't respond quickly. It is not in the stable. That is all we know. The rest of the statements are judgments".
Not admitting, the villagers said that he has been cursed. The old man said, "whether it is a curse or a blessing, we do not know. So, let us not comment." After a few days, the horse returned back to the stable - not alone but with a dozen of horses. Now the villagers said, " Oh, wow!, You certainly are blessed!.. See, now you have lots of horses!. Lucky guy you are! We are sorry, we said it was a curse; now it is a blessing!". The woodcutter farmer said,"No one knows whether it is a curse or a blessing!. I am content with what I know."
One day, his son wanted to tame the horse. He climbed on it and fell down from the horse and broke his leg. This time, the farmers called the poor man, a misfortune. Now there is no one to help you. Composed farmer said the same thing. They all thought he was senile.
Soon the king announced the country is engaging in a war against its neighboring nation and that all the young men in the village were required to join the army!. A war in which they lost and all young men died. The moaning villagers came this time again to say, "You are lucky at least your son is alive". The farmer a little annoyed said, " Again, do not say this. Say that their sons had to go to war and that this farmer's son did not. Only God knows whether it is a blessing or a curse".
How true it is!. It is a great inspiring story for all of us across ages as we are victims of judging people easily and incidents easily... A mind refreshing story indeed...
Signing off
Hema
hello madam nice to read ur post...i thought i wanted to comment on the first 2 paras of ur post:
ReplyDelete1. on the outset y shld v enter into "judging" others?!!....that is one of the root cause for various pbms v face in inter-personal relationship. let us take a person as such as he is(as is where is basis!!)nd not get into evaluating him with the limited resource v hv(our mind/brain ofcourse!!).
2. ur second para on "bogged by defeat"?!!. infact iam shocked to c tis line fm u!!??. i dont think any open-minded and proactive person will get bogged at things which r not going his way(i dont want to call it a DEFEAT!). it is only temporary or he has some learning in that particular instance/circumstance/event. i dont think it wll be prudent on us to take and talk abt serious words like "success/defeat" etc....which r too big nd fluid. In today's world of growing opportunities/uncertainties nothing is "permanent". one day i hv my day nd next day the other person hv. so take as it comes. v can put our best...but our best may not be always "the best" to give us our day everytime!!(romba kollapareena?!)....i feel by learning to accept others and changes in total v can overcum many of our false ill-feelings easily nd successfully.
(sry if my comments hv xtended beyond its requirement/purpose!!)
keep writing...
rgds sathyan
I am new to your blog and it looks great! I discovered it through your violin friend Sathyan (who is my friend too).
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this story about the Chinese farmer. It reminded me of a story which my parents used to tell me when I was a kid. It is called 'Ellaam Nanmaikkey' and it is about a king who cuts his finger while cutting an apple and his minister says 'Ellaam Nanmaikkey' and what happens after that.
@RS Sir: Thank you sir. I have changed it. You rightly worded it. (your point #2. But the thought of 'kind of defeated' occupies your mind at least for sometime and as a continuous effort, we strive to come out of it thought it takes time.
ReplyDelete@Vishy : Thank you very much. Sathyan is a great inspirer for all of us. He motivates us constantly. RS Sir, you got to agree with me..
Yes, as an effort for the generations to come, I intend writing stories like this as and when I come across with my own inferences. After all, VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE!! Ha ha..
Please feel free to comment - Good/bad.It will help in my learning!