GOOD OR BAD FORTUNE?

To help you understand and forgive what you have done to others and what others have done to you, here is a story…..

A long time ago an old man lived in a village. He had an extremely beautiful horse. All the people in the villages across the land had heard of this horse. It was a magnificent animal with long, shining loins. Its muscles rippled with sheen and glory every time it moved. The Great Chief heard of this horse and sent a messenger to the old man asking if he could purchase it. The warrior messenger raced to the old man's teepee and jumped down from his horse. Where his moccasins landed, the dust swirled in all directions. “Old man, I am here on behalf of the Great Chief. He sends his greetings and asks that he may buy your horse.” The old man was silent. He was a man of gentle dignity and quiet manners. Finally he said, “Please give my regards to the Great Chief, and please thank him for his kind offer to buy my horse. However, this horse is my friend. We are companions. I know his soul as I feel he knows mine. I cannot sell my friend.”

The messenger rode away. Two weeks later the old man's horse disappeared. When the villagers heard that the horse was missing they all gathered around the old man. “Oh, old man, this is very bad fortune! You could have sold your horse to the Great Chief. Now you have no horse and no payment for the horse. What bad fortune!” The old man looked at each villager with kind, soft eyes and said, “It is not bad fortune. It is not good fortune. We don't know the whole story. Just say the horse ran away.” The villagers went away shaking their heads because they knew that this was very bad fortune.

A month later the old man's horse returned, followed by twenty other magnificent horses. Each one was spirited and bursting with vitality and exuberance. The villagers ran forward to the old man. “Oh, old man. You were right - it was not bad fortune that your horse ran away. It was good fortune. Now not only do you have your horse back, but you have twenty more beautiful horses. This is good fortune!” The old man slowly shook his head and with utmost compassion said, “It is not good. It is not bad. We don't know the whole story. Just say that the horse returned.” The people went away shaking their heads. They knew that it was very, very good fortune to have so many beautiful horses.

The old man had one son who started to break in the horses. Every day the son would wake early to continue his work. One morning the old man came to watch his son. The young man had a natural grace as he swung on to the bare back of a wild Pinto. The horse bucked violently to the left and twisted to the right. Suddenly with a ferocious kick of his hind legs the horse tossed the son high in the air. The old man's son landed in a crumpled heap in the dust. Both of his legs were broken. All the inhabitants of the village gathered with great moaning and commiserating. “Oh, no! Oh, no! Old man, you are right. Your horse returning to you was very bad fortune. Now your only son has both legs broken and is crippled. Who is going to take care of you in your old age? This is very bad fortune.” The old man pulled himself upright and with respect said, “It is not bad fortune. It is not good fortune. Just say my son broke his legs. We don't know the whole story.”' The villagers walked away, shaking their heads. They knew it was very bad fortune for the old man. I

A great war broke out across the land and the Great Chief called all the young men of the villages to battle. It was a bad war and the villagers knew they would never see their sons again. Once more they gathered around the old man. “Old man, you are right. It is not bad fortune that your son broke his legs because, even though he is crippled, you have your son. We will never see our sons again. It was good fortune for you.” And once again the old man said, “It is not good fortune. It is not bad fortune. We don't know the whole story.”

As you explore your life, there will be times when you will experience yourself as the victim and times when you experience yourself as the victimizer. Step beyond right and wrong. Step beyond judgement. Know that who and what you have been and what you have experienced in the past is not good. It is not bad.