Who’s To Say If It’s Good, Or Bad?

Who’s to say if it’s good, or bad? There is a wise Buddhist children’s story I often read to my son that answers this question.

A young boy tells his father in a panicked, desperate tone, that his horse has gone missing. He is obviously very distraught and terrified he will never see his horse again.

The father says, “Who is to say that this situation is good, or bad?”

The son, of course, is confused. How could the loss of his horse not be a bad thing?

They go out into the woods to search for the horse. After many long days, they eventually find the horse. It has since made friends with a wild horse.

The father turns to the son and says, “See? Now you have two horses!”

But on the way back home the son stumbles and injures his leg. Again, he is miserable and terribly distraught. He tells his dad this is the worst possible thing that could happen. Now he will not be able to ride his horse.

His father says, “Who is to say that this situation is good, or bad?”

Of course, the son is perplexed and cannot figure out how injuring his leg could possibly be a good thing?

A week later, some of the son’s friends come to visit him. They tell him that they have been commanded to head out to war, along with all men over the age of 18. They tell the son he is lucky to have broken his leg, because now he would not be required to go to war with them.

Over the years, I have known many people, especially energy healing clients and Yoga students, who had suffered serious illness or injury…who later said it actually saved their lives, or brought them significant personal and spiritual growth, joy, fulfilment, and even bliss.

Everything is falling together perfectly, even though it looks as if some things are falling apart. Trust in the process you are now experiencing ~ Neale Donald Walsch

Many of these people had not been taking proper care of their bodies, or had a mind-body disconnect. But due to the health setback they discovered a newfound love for, and appreciation of their physical body. Their nutrition, sleep, exercise and other lifestyle choices had been positively altered due to their injury or illness.

Consider for a moment the many difficult, painful, scary challenges and setbacks you have experienced in your life. Then contemplate how these events have led to positive changes or became a blessing in your life.

Like many people all over the world, my family and I have also been going through a very difficult time the past two years. Yet, I have many people around me, observing, asking me how I am able to seem so happy and at peace?

Recently, a neighbor also asked me this and I told her that I had endured a traumatic childhood. We were poor and there was a lot of neglect and abuse. So, any little positive thing in life is a big blessing to me in my adult life. Just going grocery shopping with my healthy, happy, wise-beyond-their-years children is an everyday miracle to me.

While many people might view grocery shopping as some unpleasant duty to rush through and check off of their to-do list, I am truly present in the moment while I am in the store. I find joy in just something as simple as my children’s spontaneous laughter about something silly, or simply feeling the pleasant warmth of the sun on my skin.

I refuse to be miserable, discontented, or unhappy.

So trust the process of your life unfolding, and know with certainty, through the peaks and valleys of your journey, that your soul rests safe and secure in the arms of God ~ Dan Millman

That same neighbor has her own struggles. Most would consider her challenges minimal, but to her they are huge, and weigh heavily on her. She recently even attempted suicide. According to her, watching me go through what I am personally dealing with such joy, while also venting and honestly expressing, and not supressing my true feelings, has since inspired her to change her outlook.

I also encouraged her to join Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), because I sensed she might be abusing alcohol. She resisted this idea initially, but finally realized she might indeed have a problem and that it was probably exacerbating her depression. She has never been drinking, or been drunk in my presence and asked how I knew. I then told her that I was psychic. This helped to change her mind about seeking help.

She has since told me recently that she is now in therapy, and was in the process of exploring her thoughts and feelings in way she never has before. She feels the process is making her feel happier and healthier.

I wish we could learn our most important life lessons by watching TV, reading books, or simply eating ice cream for that matter, but unfortunately true personal and spiritual growth, and our ultimate connection to the Divine does not work that way.

I have written before about not being able to purchase what I believed at one point to be my ‘dream house,’ only to learn that the place I wanted to buy had burned down to the ground months later. Thank God I was not in complete charge of my own destiny, or I would have lost everything had I bought that place. Divine intervention prevented me from making a terrible mistake.

In your action, you lose sight of the vision, you lose sight of your trust in the process, and just band around in a sense of futility. Hold the vision and trust that the Universe will acclimate to your vision. Hold the vision and trust the process ~ Abraham-Hicks

One of my Yoga students, many years ago, became severely depressed after having gone through many unhealthy, toxic relationships. She really wanted to get married and have children, but she was not having any success with her romantic endeavours. She was in her late thirties and felt nervous that she might never have children.

During that difficult time, she was involved in a serious car accident that landed her in hospital for an extended period of time. She was devastated! How much more was going to go wrong in her life? She felt the Universe was “picking on her.’”

During her recovery she was moved around from room to room, and nurse to nurse, as she went through the different phases of healing and rehabilitation. The last nurse to assist her, later became her husband! Today, more than two decades later, they are still happily married, and they have a beautiful teenage daughter.

Next time something bad happens in your life, remember to ask yourself this simple question: who’s to say if it’s good, or bad?