How to let it go, faster

The OLD Story:

Once upon a time, there was an old man who lived near the border of China. People called him 塞翁 (Sāi Wēng). He had a horse that was very useful for working and getting around. One day, the horse ran away, and his neighbors came to express their sympathy. "What bad luck!" they said.

However, the old man simply smiled and replied, "Who knows if it is bad luck or good luck?"

A few days later, the horse returned, and with it came a group of wild horses. The neighbors were astonished by this unexpected good fortune and congratulated him, saying, "What great luck you have!"

The old man again smiled and said, "Who knows if it is good luck or bad luck?"

Later, the old man’s son tried to ride one of the wild horses. Unfortunately, he fell off and broke his leg. Once again, the neighbors expressed their sympathy: "What bad luck!"

The old man, calm as always, replied, "Who knows if it is bad luck or good luck?"

Not long after, a war broke out, and all the young men in the village were drafted to fight. Many of them died in battle, but because the old man’s son had a broken leg, he was exempted from the draft and remained safe. The neighbors, once more amazed, said, "What good fortune!"

The old man simply said, "Who knows?"

The NEW Story:

Steve Jobs, who co-founded Apple in 1976, built it into one of the world's leading companies. Apple went public on December 12, 1980, raising over $100 million, making it one of the largest IPOs of its time and resulting in substantial wealth for its founders and early investors. In 1983, Jobs successfully convinced John Sculley to join the company by asking, "Do you want to sell sugared water for the rest of your life?" However, he later lost a power struggle to Sculley and was ultimately fired from Apple. According to a report by VentureBeat*, he experienced a period of depression following his departure. Fast forward to 2005, he reflected:

"I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life."

The BORROWED Story:

Zooming in and out can offer a fresh perspective and help you identify the right comparison point. Life's ups and downs are simply part of the journey.

The sooner we "surrender" to the outcome, the easier it becomes to enjoy the experience. Everything happens for a reason; while we may not understand that reason yet, it will be revealed in time.

Just like this article of "The Highest Virtue Is Like Water" by 赵新进 summarized, we should strive to go with the flow, just like living water.

"Bruce Lee...:

“Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves.

Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”

--END--

08/19/2024, Keflavík International Airport, Iceland. After a scary Emergency Landing.

Reference:

https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/steve-jobs-said-living-a-happy-successful-life-comes-down-to-this-rare-mindset.html

https://venturebeat.com/business/steve-jobs-wandered-depressed-in-europe-after-being-exiled-by-apple/

https://saugeentimes.com/do-you-know-the-difference-between-dead-and-living-water-by-rev-heather-mccarrel/