This is one of my favorite fairy tales that supports the archetype of the Wise Man within us. Enjoy it!<\/p>\n
“In a village, there lived a very poor old man. Yet even kings envied him, for he owned a magnificent white horse. Many offered him extravagant sums of money, but the old man always refused, saying:<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThis horse is not just a horse to me \u2013 it is a living being. How could I sell him?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n One day, the horse disappeared into the forest. The villagers came and mocked the old man:<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou fool! We always knew the horse would run away. You could\u2019ve sold him and been rich. Now you have nothing!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The old man calmly replied:<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t go so far. Just say the horse is missing \u2013 that\u2019s all we know. Whether it\u2019s a misfortune or a blessing, I cannot say. Only time will tell.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The villagers laughed. They thought he was mad.<\/em><\/p>\n But two weeks later, the horse returned, bringing with him ten other equally beautiful wild horses.<\/em><\/p>\n Again, the villagers gathered and said:<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou were right, old man! It wasn\u2019t a misfortune \u2013 it was a blessing!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The old man responded:<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cDon’t go so far”, the old man said. “Yes, the horse has returned, and he\u2019s brought others. That\u2019s a fact. But whether it\u2019s a blessing or a misfortune, who can say? You\u2019re only reading one word of a sentence\u00a0 \u2013 how can you judge the whole book?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n This time, the people kept quiet, but in their hearts, they thought the old man was wrong. Eleven horses \u2013 how could that be anything but a gift?<\/em><\/p>\n A week later, the old man\u2019s only son began training the new horses. He fell and broke both legs.<\/em><\/p>\n Now, the villagers returned again:<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou were right, old man. It was a misfortune after all.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou are obsessed with conclusions,\u201d the old man said. \u201cJust say my son broke his legs. That is the fact. Whether it is a blessing or a misfortune \u2013 who knows? Life comes to us in fragments. We are not given to see the whole picture.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n A few weeks later, war broke out, and all the young men in the village were conscripted. Only the old man\u2019s son was spared, because of his injury. The villagers wept \u2013 most knew their sons would never return. Once again, they came to the old man.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou were right,\u201d they said. \u201cThis time, it really was a blessing. Your son may be the only one who survives.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n And the old man quietly said:<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou continue to judge. But all we truly know is that my son stayed home. Whether that is a blessing or a misfortune \u2013 only the Absolute knows.”<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This is one of my favorite fairy tales that supports the archetype of the Wise Man within us. Enjoy it! “In a village, there lived a very poor old man. Yet even kings envied him, for he owned a magnificent white horse. Many offered him extravagant sums of money, but the old man always refused, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":153076,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[646],"tags":[652,653,674],"class_list":["post-150926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spiritual-intelligence","tag-healing-stories","tag-how-changes-happen","tag-the-mind"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t