There are often (not always) several ways to look at a challenging moment. The two ideas I’ll present are opposed and non-political—unless you wear red or blue glasses and never remove them. But it might be interesting to give both non-political ideas some thought and perhaps find some overlap between them.

The first is the funnier but darker vision of things in general and mankind in particular. It comes from someone Wikipedia describes as an “Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist.” He was all those and had a surpassing wit:

So much for dark humor. Shaw lived to age 96, dying in 1950. During that time, he had witnessed many ups and downs, including multiple wars.

Now to the wonderfully wise “Story of the Chinese Farmer.” The tale is more than 2,200 years old. Below is an animated version told by Alan Watts. It is followed by a text slightly different but written by the same narrator. My thoughts begin after the written version in bold letters.

Once upon a time there was a Chinese farmer whose horse ran away. That evening, all of his neighbors came around to commiserate. They said, “We are so sorry to hear your horse has run away. This is most unfortunate.” The farmer said, “Maybe.” The next day the horse came back bringing seven wild horses with it, and in the evening everybody came back and said, “Oh, isn’t that lucky. What a great turn of events. You now have eight horses!” The farmer again said, “Maybe.”

The following day his son tried to break one of the horses, and while riding it, he was thrown and broke his leg. The neighbors then said, “Oh dear, that’s too bad,” and the farmer responded, “Maybe.” The next day the conscription officers came around to conscript people into the army, and they rejected his son because he had a broken leg. Again all the neighbors came around and said, “Isn’t that great!” Again, he said, “Maybe.”

The whole process of nature is an integrated process of immense complexity, and it’s really impossible to tell whether anything that happens in it is good or bad — because you never know what will be the consequence of the misfortune; or, you never know what will be the consequences of good fortune.

— Alan Watts

There are many lessons in the Chinese Parable:

First, we wish for certainty, but much is questionable. A marital partner betrays us, government policies change for better or worse, and climate events endanger and disrupt our lives.

And then?

Perhaps we find someone more honorable and loving. Doubtful government policies may help in the long haul, but not now. Some people move to higher ground after a flood. Unless the Big Guy decides it’s time for another flood of the Hebrew Bible variety.

Time will tell, and predicting the future with exactness is impossible.

Absent certainty over many things, it is best to reconsider our views. Research reliable sources to find out more. Talk to those with different opinions. You might change your mind.

For example, nineteenth-century surgeons performed operations with filthy hands, soiled surgical gowns, and unclean instruments. Infection and death often followed.

The physicians recognized no problem with this manner of doing their job, and new ideas about bacterial infection were resisted. Better practices finally prevailed, primarily due to the work and influence of Joseph Lister.

We are born with a tendency to focus on the short term and believe that the mind’s handy telescope can see over the far horizon into the future. We can’t, and living conditions are altering at an unprecedented speed.

The average 16th-century man had less information to process in his short lifetime than in a weekday edition of the New York Times.

For me, the essential point is not to despair or catastrophize unnecessarily. Take a breath, weep or rage, and then, when ready, lay your shoulder to the wheel and join others to repair the world and make it flourish.

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The Sun Flower is the work of Gustav Klimt.