An old farmer plows his farm with the only ox he has. As the ox pulls the plow, it breaks its leg, which makes it useless to the farmer. “Wow you have very bad luck,” says the farmer’s next-door neighbor. The farmer replies, “Maybe so. Maybe not.” The neighbor shouts, “You must be crazy, that’s the worst thing that can happen to any farmer.” The wise old farmer once again says, “Maybe so. Maybe not.”
The next day a wild horse comes to the farmer’s farm. Since he didn’t have his ox, he decides to catch the horse to plow the soil. The farmer catches the beautiful wild horse.
With the wild horse, the work gets done 10 times faster. The farmer’s neighbor observes this and comes by to say, “You just got yourself a nice horse. You are definitely a lucky man.” The farmer once again says, “Maybe so. Maybe not.” The neighbor, upset at the farmer’s replies explodes, “You sure are an old mad man. You just got yourself a nice horse 10 times better than your old ox and you don’t consider yourself lucky. I cannot understand you.”
The next day, the farmer’s son falls off the wild horse and breaks his two legs. The neighbor comes by and says “Wow, you are definitely an unfortunate being. Your only son now has both legs broken. Who is going to help you now? You are definitely in big trouble, don’t you think old man?”
The farmer looks at his neighbor and says, “Maybe so. Maybe not.” The neighbor leaves infuriated saying “You are definitely an old mad person. You can’t admit how unlucky you are.” The next day, the country’s army shows up in town drafting every able young person for the war, including the neighbor’s only son. Yet they didn’t take the farmer’s son because of his temporary handicap.
Moral: Many times, we make quick, inaccurate conclusions about our situation. Remember, whatever we are going through is neither bad nor good. “Maybe it
