The Old Man and His Horse (a Parable)

Have you ever heard the parable about the old man and his horse? If not, I promise it’s worth a minute of your time. I just love this story!

Here’s how it goes:

There once was an old farmer. One day, his only horse ran away.

Hearing the news, all the neighbors in the village said to the old man, “What a terrible loss, such bad luck!”

The old man replied, “Maybe yes, maybe no. We’ll see.”

A few days later, the horse returned to the farm, accompanied by seven wild horses. “Wow, that’s incredible! What good luck!” his neighbors exclaimed.

“Maybe yes, maybe no. We’ll see!” the old farmer replied.

The next day, the farmer’s only son attempted to ride one of the wild horses. The horse threw him, and he broke both of his legs. The neighbors said, “I’m so sorry, that is such horrible news. What misfortune.”

The man simply replied, “Maybe yes, maybe no. We’ll see.”

Soon after, the country found itself at war and every able-bodied young man was drafted to fight.

But the farmer’s son was spared because of his injuries. “You must be so happy, what great news! Such luck for your family,” said the neighbors.

And the old farmer simply replied, “Maybe yes, maybe no. We’ll see!”

This parable reminds us that we may not always know how something will turn out. What seems like very bad luck may, in fact, have a silver lining. And what seems like great news may not turn out how we expect, either!

Jumping to conclusions right away about whether something is “good” or “bad” is often not the wisest choice.

So instead of rushing to conclusions or judging a situation… We can learn from the wise old farmer. We can learn to accept what is and stay open to the possibilities ahead.

We can learn to say, “Maybe! We’ll see.” 😊

Until next time…

Keep Tapping!

Nick Ortner

P.S. If you want to take the lessons from this story and put them into practice today, try one of these Tapping meditations in The Tapping Solution App!