A Short Story and 5 Ways it Can Change Your Life

Earlier this year my truck was stolen with my keys, wallet and laptop in it. Not to mention three pairs of boots I really liked.

Why the heck did I have that much stuff in my truck you ask?!

Well, I went for a run after locking up the truck in my old neighborhood that I lived in for five years with no issues. Once I took off someone broke into my truck and happened to find a spare key that I had laying around after fixing an ignition issue.

Ahhhhhhhh, I can see his BIG OLE smile right now as he drives off with everything I own and heads to the grocery store to stock up on food and drinks with my debit card.

Time to FREAK OUT, right?!

No.

Not this time.

Of course it was not cool at all, but I recalled something as I waited for the police. I immediately went back to a memorable short story that I have read a many times that always seems to keep me grounded.

Tales from the Tao is from the first book I ever purchased on eastern philosophy and is a collection short stories and quotes on Taoism. I credit this entire book and most specifically this story for changing the way I look at life and many situations that arise.

This story is called We Shall See:

There was an old man who had one son and one horse, both of whom he valued very highly. One day the horse ran away and his neighbors came over to console him. 'Oh what great misfortune,' they said, 'your horse is gone! How will you ever afford to get another one?'

The old man sat and smoked his pipe and only said, 'We shall see.'

Then, a few days later, the horse came back, accompanied by several wild horses, tripling his herd. Again, the neighbors visited, this time to congratulate the old man on his great luck. Again he merely sat and smoked and said, 'We shall see.'

A short time later, his son was thrown from one of the wild horses and broke his leg in several places. The neighbors all arrived, calling out, 'Ah great misfortune, your son will never walk again!' But again the old man merely sat quietly in front of his house and, between puffs oh his pipe, said, 'We shall see.'

Some time after that, the army came through the village, rounding up all the young men to press them into service and send them to the battlefront far away in the frozen north. But with his crippled leg the old man's son was left behind. Though crippled, he managed to car for his old father until his death many years later.

Here are a few reason why I think this story will help you:

1. You Already Have it All

Conditions for happiness are present this very moment. You can reduce the impact that "misfortunate" things have on you when you realize this. Odds are right now you have food in your belly, you are healthy, you are breathing clean air, you are warm and have great friends and family to turn to. This is really all you truly need for happiness.

You are going to be just fine.

2. Patience

We get so wrapped up over good and bad.  And when something slows us down (like traffic) or when something gets taken from us (like all my belongings) the natural tendency is to throw a big fit.

It seems so selfish, yet understandable.

What if you could decrease the burden that is laid on your mind and begin to find patience when things do not go your way?

There is real gold in that concept.

3. Bad Transforms Into Good

Life is a balancing act.

When something bad happens, naturally it eventually turns into something positive.

What I realized during and after my incident was that I have incredible friends and family that are there to help me when things get difficult.

That was a precious reminder that I am never alone and I am surrounded by incredible people.

The same goes for you.

4.  Do Not Stop Caring

The very first sentence of this short story is really starting to resonate with me now:

"There was an old man who had one son and one horse, both of whom he valued very highly."

Just because you do not freak out when something is lost does not mean that you do not value, love or cherish it.  It simply means that you will not get carried away and that you will be patient and mindful.

He valued both the horse and the son very highly, but yet when something happened to them both that he could not control he decided to be patient and see how everything played out.

5.  Let Go

This can be the hardest part of all, but when you take the previous four steps into account it can make it so much easier.

When we finally pass away from this life we will have to let go of everything; we take nothing with us.  So if you cannot control a situation anymore the best thing to do is to just let go and let the natural flow of life take care of the rest.

There is so much soul in that.