祸兮福之所倚，福兮祸之所伏。《老子》
Prosperity is rooted in calamity, Calamity is rooted in prosperity . In other words, good fortunes lies in bad, bad fortune lurks within good.
Said by philosopher Laozi, Fortune may come out of misfortune and vice versa. During happy times you may feel particularly hard hit by bad shocks, which could be around the corner. Conversely during extremely hard times, good news could be lurking.
Within despair lies opportunity. And be prepared for shocks during pleasant times.
During these times of pandemics and social injustice followed by social unrest, it’s important to see the promise of change.
A timeless parable that illustrates this lesson goes:
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.
“Perhaps,” the farmer replied.
The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “What great luck!” the neighbors exclaimed.
“Perhaps,” 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.
“Perhaps,” 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.
“Perhaps,” said the farmer…