Taoism

As many of you know I have had a lot of time on my hands for quite some time.  One thing that I have been doing with my time is becoming more familiar with eastern thought.  One mode of thought I am very interested in is Taoism.  I really love Taoism.  It is so simple and beautiful.  It is something that nourishes my spirit.

There are days my life situation really gets me down and I become stuck with all these "bad" things that are happening in my life.  There is a story I came across while reading "The Te of Piglet" that has been very helpful for me.  I thought I would share it with whoever reads this blog.

An old man and his son lived in an abandoned fortress on the side of a hill.  Their only possession of value was a horse.  

One day, the horse ran away.  The neighbors came by to offer sympathy.  "That's really bad!" they said.  "How do you know?" asked the old man.

The next day, the horse returned, bringing with it several wild horses.  The old man and his son shut them all inside the gate.  The neighbors hurried over.  "That's really good!" they said.  "How do you know?" asked the old man.  

The following day, the son tried riding one one of the wild horses, fell off, and broke his leg.  The neighbors came around as soon as they heard the news.  "That's really bad!" they said.  "How do you know?" asked the old man.  

The day after that, the army came through, forcing the local young men into service to fight a faraway battle against the northern barbarians.  Many of them would never return.  But the son couldn't go, because he'd broken his leg.  

I often times get weighed down thinking how things are going are so bad.  Now I try to say, "How do I know?"