Last year I wrote about how the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer, who in The World As Will And Idea famously explained that nothing exists outside of our perceptions of them, could help us derive purpose and meaning in even the most dull and boring of tasks at work.

“This truth is solemn,” he wrote. “and must for everyone be, if not frightening, then certainly sobering and serious; for it states that each and everyone of us can say and must say, “The world is my will.””

It underlines how a situation can be viewed in many different ways, and we’re largely in control of the perception we place on that situation.  It came to mind as I read about the parable of a Chinese farmer.

Treating imposters just the same

The basic gist of the parable is that a Chinese farmer has a horse, who one day runs away.  His neighbors come to him and say “what terrible news,” to which the farmer replies “maybe.”

For the next day the horse returns and has brought some wild horses with him.  His neighbors regale his good fortune, and again the farmer responds stoically to his apparent good fortune.

That week, the farmer’s son attempts to tame one of the wild horses and is thrown, breaking his leg.  “How terrible for you,” the farmer’s neighbors extort.  “Maybe,” the farmer says.

The following day, conscription staff visit the farm looking for every able-bodied young man to join the war effort.  Upon seeing the broken leg of the farmer’s son, they reject him and move on.  “What fantastic news…”

Of course, this basic notion that we should treat apparent success and failure the same is not new, and was famously used in Kipling’s If, but I think the Chinese parable goes deeper and underlines the inherent uncertainty in life and provides a nice reminder that it’s less about the situation we’re in, and more about how we respond to them.

As with most things, the parable is always better when read by Alan Watts, so I’ll leave you with the video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byQrdnq7_H0