The farmer who has lost his horse by Alan Watts:

“Once upon a time, there was a Chinese farmer who lost a horse. All the neighbors came around that evening and said, ‘That’s too bad.’ And, the farmer said, ‘Maybe.’

The next day the horse came back and brought seven wild horses with it. All the neighbors came around and said, ‘Why, that’s great, isn’t it?’ And, he said, ‘Maybe.’

The next day his son, who was attempting to tame one of these horses and was riding it, was thrown and broke his leg. All the neighbors came around in the evening and said, ‘Well, that’s too bad, isn’t it?’ And, he said, ‘Maybe.’

The next day the conscription officers came around looking for people for the army, and they rejected his son because he had a broken leg. All the neighbors came around that evening and said, ‘Isn’t that wonderful?’ And, he said, ‘Maybe.'”

----------------------------

The parable below is Alan Watts take on the well known farmer story who has lost his horse. This version is personally my favourite one, which comes across really well due to it's simplicity.   

The moral of the story is basically that everything is interconnected, and we can’t see all the prior causes or predict the future consequences. Instead of judging something as “good” or “bad,” accept it as it is.