Good. Bad. Who knows?
I have to admit, this year has been the strangest one of our lifetime, by a considerable margin. Even if you compare it with all the other black swan events we have seen in our lifetime. Like the year 2000, when not only the dot com bubble burst but people were worried that all computers in the world would stop working due to Y2K. Or the burst of the housing bubble in the US and the ensuing financial crisis in 2008.
Unlike them, the sheer pace with which the events unfolded - it took less than three months for the whole world to shut down - and the magnitude of the impact it had on everyone was simply mind-blowing.
Like everyone else, I had goals and plans for this year. Amongst other things, I had plans to travel and see the world and meet new people. But COVID-19 looked at us, laughed, and said - Nope! Not happening this year.
There is no doubt that 2020 had been a tumultuous and challenging year. We have just spent the whole year reacting to (adjusting to) the ramifications of the pandemic. It’s hard to feel anything but disappointed.
But I came across this story recently, and it changed my perspective.
The unknown origins of this story tells of a farmer who used an old horse to help plough his fields.
One day, the horse escaped and galloped off. When the farmer’s neighbors sympathized with the man over the bad news, the farmer replied, “Good? or Bad? Who Knows?”
A week later, the horse returned with a herd of horses! This time the neighbors congratulated the farmer on this good news. He replied, “Good? or Bad? Who knows?”
Then when the farmer’s son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off the horse’s back and broke his leg. Everyone thought this was very bad news. The farmer’s reaction, “Good? or Bad? Who knows?”
Some weeks later, the army marched into the village requiring every able-bodies youth they found to enlist. When they saw the farmer’s son with this broken leg, they let him off.
Good? or Bad? Who Knows?
When I think of the year that has gone by, I feel similarly.
Good. Bad. Who knows?
As we come to the end of 2020, I only hope that all these events are a part of a larger whole, the meaning of which, is yet to unravel.
See you on the other side. Happy New Year!
Kaddy