on the slowly unfolding story of our lives

The Zen Master and the Little Boy

Once upon a time in a village in far away China, a little boy got a horse as a gift on his 14th birthday. All the villagers were delighted, and said, “how very wonderful.” 

But the Zen master saw this and said, “We shall see.”

Some months later, thieves came to the village and stole the boy’s horse. All the villagers came together, clicked their tongues, and said, “How very terrible.”

“We shall see,” said the Zen master.

Eventually, the thieves were caught and the horse was returned to the boy.   “How wonderful!” cried the villagers.  

“We shall see,” said the Zen master.

The next year, as the young boy rode his horse up the hill, he fell down and broke his leg. All the villagers came together, clicked their tongues, and said, “How very terrible.”

“We shall see,” said the Zen master.

A few years later all the young men in the village had to go to war. But because the young boy had bent his leg, he couldn’t go. All the villagers said, “This fellow is lucky.”

“We shall see,” replied the Zen master.

On the Slowly Unfolding Story of our Lives

I love the story of the Zen master and the little boy.  Wisdom, it reveals, is slow to make judgments.  Good or bad—we can’t judge it until we see the big picture, the end of the story.  Like today: the sun is shining and the waves are rolling in lazily at Ocean Beach.  It seems like a perfect day in Northern California.  

But in God’s view, we shall see.  Perhaps we are stuck on an island far out at sea, lazily eating lotus flowers and forgetting what we originally set out to do.   Perhaps what we view as paradise is simply an illusion, a detour from the Path. And perhaps tomorrow will bring a huge trial our way, but it will be a character-defining moment in our lives.

Life is always full of ups and downs, but “God works all things together for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose”. I trust deeply that He has my best interest in mind, and that faith gets me through the hard times.

-Lisa Nelson

March 23, 2010