A Chinese farmer Story -

What does this story mean? Perhaps the story of the Chinese farmer teaches us about a suspension of judgment regarding what actually is a tragedy or a triumph. Can we really always tell what is fortunate and what is unlucky? Might the wiser course of action often be to withhold judgment rather than definitively declare what happens as good or bad? Maybe, as Alan Watts claimed, the story teaches us a radical skepticism because it is impossible to tell whether anything that happens is good or bad. On the other hand, a Stoic philosopher like Epictetus might see the story as the farmer’s rightful detachment from what is not in his control—matters about which he should be indifferent. Do we not often see only in hindsight that a difficulty was just what we needed to grow and flourish in the long term? Painful and challenging experiences often lead to development, especially when reframed as opportunities to grow in skills, in virtues, and in bonds. The ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus said, “He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God.” Terrible suffering is a medicine so dangerous that it may only be rightfully employed by the Divine Physician. With much love, Dul