Good luck? Bad luck?

I just re-found one of my favorite stories of all time. It’s something to really think about when you think life has dealt you a cruel blow. It’s a short piece called “Good luck? Bad luck?” by Lao Tzu:
There is a Chinese story of an old farmer who had an old horse for tilling his fields. One day the horse escaped into the hills and when all the farmer’s neighbors sympathized with the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied, “Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?”
A few nights later, the barn burned down. If the horse had been in the barn, it would have died. Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?
A week later his horse returned with a herd of wild horses from the hills and this time the neighbors congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His reply was, “Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?”
Then when the farmer’s son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone thought this was very bad luck. Not the farmer, whose only reaction was, “Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?”
Some weeks later the army marched into the village and conscripted every able bodied youth they found there. When they aw the farmer’s son with his broken leg they let him stay home.
Another story of this kind was told by a wonderful man, Iftikhar Bhatti. When he was on his way to the U.S. many years ago from Pakistan, he missed a plane in England. The plane he would have been on crashed, and everyone aboard was killed. Good luck for those of us who knew him.
More recently a friend of mine experienced this same phenomenon. She and her fiancé and her daughter had planned to go to Europe for two weeks. Just before they were to leave, her fiancé developed severe nosebleeds and high blood pressure, and his doctor ordered him to avoid travel. All three of them were pretty discouraged. Then, a few days later, her daughter became ill and was diagnosed with mononucleosis. If she had gone to Europe, she would have been very ill in a strange country.
Next time something happens that you think is a cruel joke by God, stop and say, “Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?”