A Horse that Works in Mysterious Ways

Your Reality: Courtesy of your Thoughts and Feelings-Kandis Twa

An expression I hear all the time  is “Well, it is what it is” or “It was meant to be”.

A couple of years ago I probably would have told you these statements were a bit flaky (and  be sure not to try either of these out on my Dad, God bless him!). Now, however I can see the wisdom in them. Just yesterday a friend shared a teaching  story from  Zen-Buddhism which I think reflects the sentiment of  these statements.

Once upon the time there was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.

“Maybe,” the farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed.

“Maybe,” replied the old man.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.

“Maybe,” answered the farmer.

The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.

“Maybe,” said the farmer.

The way I see it is that the Farmer’s ‘maybe’ in this story is the same as saying ‘it is what it is’.  In the past, and to a certain extent I recognize that I still do this, is to label something as good or bad, rather than just ‘is’. In essence, labeling is judging a situation or experience, instead of staying in a neutral space, which would be most zen-like.

So, aspiring to be like our Farmer in the story is a noble pursuit, but where I believe that this line of thinking can get off track is when, ‘well, it just is what it is’ becomes ‘there was/is nothing I can do about it”. Such a belief system  is a slippery slope down into the pit of  ‘Well, these (bad) things always happen to me, I must deserve it’. If you find this kind of thinking going on in you, sit down write it down on a piece of paper and then burn it. Let that energy go- it does not serve you!!

Remember, we always have choice about the circumstances we wish to experience in our lives. Always-free will is a birth right. If there are experiences that are occurring which you don’t like, rather than judge them (which can only lead to more of the same), make a different choice.  Your thoughts and feeling are what create experience. In other words, experiences are a direct reflection of your thoughts, powered by your feelings. You chose what you think and feel, therefore you chose what you experience.

So, what are you thinking? Do you really know?

I would have told you I do, but I am putting it to the test, so that I can be more aware of what I am choosing to experience. I’ve started an exercise this week, where I set the timer on my phone to ding every thirty minutes. When I hear the ding I write down what my thoughts were at that moment. So, far I’m surprised how many negative thoughts I have!

Well, it is just is what it is. Awareness. So, what am I going to do about it? Stay tuned…

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