Still Here by Ram Dass

“I often tell a wonderful story that illustrates this brand of wisdom. Once, there was a farmer in a village who had a horse that he treasured. One day the horse ran away, and the farmer’s neighbor came to his house to offer his condolences. ‘I’m so sorry for your loss,’ he said, trying to be a good friend. ‘You never know,’ the farmer replied. The very next day, the horse came back, leading a beautiful wild mare alongside him. Again the neighbor piped in: ‘That’s wonderful!’ he said. ‘What a stroke of good luck!” The farmer replied, ‘You never know.’ A few days later, the farmer’s son was trying to break the wild horse in, was thrown to the ground, and broke his leg. Of course the neighbor came over to say how sorry he was that things had gone badly. The farmer replied, ‘You never know.’ A short time later, the Cossack army came through the village in search of young men to fight in the war, but since the farmer’s son’s leg was broken, he was allowed to stay at home. ‘Aren’t you a fortunate man!’ the neighbor said when he heard the news. You can guess what the farmer replied.”

-Ram Dass, 2000