My favorite Proverb: The Poor Farmer.

There are many versions of this proverb. This is by far my favorite one.
It has imparted me with some wisdom and strength to reflect on life's many ups and downs. I felt compelled to share it with other members this beautiful Easter Sunday.

Cheers.
-DF

There is an old Taoist parable. It begins with a poor farmer in ancient China who worked a small plot of land with his teenage son. During this time horses were considered a sign of wealth; the richest person in the province owned no more than a few of them. One day a wild horse jumped the poor farmer’s fence and began grazing on his land. According to local law, this meant that the horse now rightfully belonged to him and his family. The son could hardly contain his joy, but the father put his hand on his son’s shoulder and said, “Who knows what’s good or bad?” The next day the horse made its escape back to the mountains and the boy was heartbroken. “Who knows what’s good or bad?” his father said again. On the third day the horse returned with a dozen wild horses following. “We’re rich!” the son cried, to which the father again replied, “Who knows what’s good or bad?” On the fourth day the boy climbed on one of the wild horses and was thrown, breaking his leg. His father ran to get the doctor; soon both of them were attending to the boy, who was upset and in a great deal of pain. The old farmer looked deeply into his son’s eyes, and said, “My son, who knows what is good or bad?” And on the fifth day the province went to war. Army recruiters came through the town and took all the eligible young men to fight the war. All except for the young man with the broken leg.

Source

Never heard of this one. I like it. The moral of the message I would say would probably have to be; Even good things can come from even the worst situations in life.

Thank you for sharing with us. I would highly recommend you checking out the Cherokee Legend about the Two wolves if you haven't read it already. I'm sure you'll like it.

Regards,

This story epitomizes a very simple saying that my family has used for a long time and I know others have, too.

We say "a blessing in disguise."

a reply to: DenyFlatulence
That is very good. I havent heard that one before. This is the two wolves.

ONE EVENING, AN ELDERLY
CHEROKEE BRAVE TOLD HIS
GRANDSON ABOUT A BATTLE THAT
GOES ON INSIDE PEOPLE.

HE SAID "MY SON, THE BATTLE IS
BETWEEN TWO 'WOLVES' INSIDE US ALL.
ONE IS EVIL. IT IS ANGER,
ENVY, JEALOUSY, SORROW,
REGRET, GREED, ARROGANCE,
SELF-PITY, GUILT, RESENTMENT,
INFERIORITY, LIES, FALSE PRIDE,
SUPERIORITY, AND EGO.

THE OTHER IS GOOD.
IT IS JOY, PEACE LOVE, HOPE SERENITY,
HUMILITY, KINDNESS, BENEVOLENCE,
EMPATHY, GENEROSITY,
TRUTH, COMPASSION AND FAITH."

THE GRANDSON THOUGH ABOUT
IT FOR A MINUTE AND THEN ASKED
HIS GRANDFATHER:

"WHICH WOLF WINS?..."

THE OLD CHEROKEE SIMPLY REPLIED,
"THE ONE THAT YOU FEED"

A similar one that I read in a book full of tales from around the world that I always remember is set in Africa.
Basically there is a poor guy who owns a bottle, which he keeps on a shelf above his bed, so he can look at it.
He keeps dreaming about what he can do with it.
So he imagines himself filling it up with water and delivering it to people for money, then after a while he can afford two bottles, which lead to better service and more money.
He goes on and on how one day he has 100s of bottles and employees and he becomes extremely wealthy for his village and marries the prettiest woman with whom he has a lot of children who then work for him and he gets richer and richer and eventually moves into the city where he owns the biggest house...and then as he gets up he hits his head on the shelf, the bottle goes flying and breaks into pieces.

a reply to: Hecate666

That one is a common theme. I learned it in this old story, The Milkmaid and her Pail:

A Milkmaid had been out to milk the cows and was returning from the field with the shining milk pail balanced nicely on her head. As she walked along, her pretty head was busy with plans for the days to come.

"This good, rich milk," she mused, "will give me plenty of cream to churn. The butter I make I will take to market, and with the money I get for it I will buy a lot of eggs for hatching. How nice it will be when they are all hatched and the yard is full of fine young chicks. Then when May day comes I will sell them, and with the money I'll buy a lovely new dress to wear to the fair. All the young men will look at me. They will come and try to make love to me,—but I shall very quickly send them about their business!"

As she thought of how she would settle that matter, she tossed her head scornfully, and down fell the pail of milk to the ground. And all the milk flowed out, and with it vanished butter and eggs and chicks and new dress and all the milkmaid's pride.

Do not count your chickens before they are hatched.

I think the same idea is in The Arabian Nights, too, and I'm sure it's in other places also. I hadn't run across your version yet though.

In all bad there is some good and in all good there is some bad.

nice, S&F'd and rolled on several times
..couldn't help but think something about God works in mysterious ways

The Two Wolves legend and the Poor Farmer proverb compliment each other quite nicely. One addresses internal perception and the other addresses external perception.

a reply to: DenyFlatulence

Like the message. Someone can truly never know what may be a blessing in disguise. Everything happens for a reason.
After looking back at something you thought was the worst thing that ever happened in your life, it may actually turn out to be the best thing that ever happened.

Life truly is a mystery.

The world would be a far better place if only the public behavior of the "farmers" (especially in the Phoenix area) were consistent with what they "preach" in public and in their "churches".

This also goes for politicians, bankers, corporate CEOs, military officials, people in the CIA, NSA, and any other agency responsible for mass surveillance and manipulation. From experience I've seen that the people with the most impeccable reputations are often the most vicious, vindictive, angry, judgmental, self-centered, self-righteous, greedy, and manipulative.

So be careful, appearances can be very deceptive.

a reply to: deloprator20000

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Matthew 7:15

It has been re-written into a general fable often attributed to Aesop about a wolf in sheep's clothing.

a reply to: deloprator20000

Yes these old stories are still viable today and there are some good ones. I was always a fan of ancient greek mythologies and i came across Aesop very young. I was always a sucker for a good story.
When i grew up a little, i got into the native american folklore and i was surprised to see the same morals being held in high regard even though so much time and distance separated the two cultures. Then i realized that all cultures had these same stories. It goes to show how really close we all are.