Allan Watts And The Story Of The Chinese Farmer

Why, then,’ tis none to you, for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.  To me it is a prison.  Well, then it isn’t one to you since nothing is really good or bad in itself—it’s all what a person thinks about it.

― William Shakespeare, Hamlet

I was sixteen years old when I read Hamlet, and I still remember the big W.T.F that was written all over my face when I stumbled over the quote above.

I was overwhelmed.

If it is impossible to distinguish between good and bad events, how the hell can we possibly calculate whether or not we move in the right direction?

Is there a purpose?

Is there an ideal way to go through life?

I did not understand…

Fifteen years have passed since that puzzling moment where I was utterly confused about the meaning of the structure of existence, and while I still have no ultimate answer for this question, I have come to peace with the chaotic randomness of life.

Did you ever experienced an event that you thought was catastrophic but later turned out to be a key moment for your journey of betterment?

I have certainly had some of them…

The Duality Of Fortune And Misfortune

Without my depressive episodes, I would have never felt the need to study psychology, and this very blog would not exist, and without that, I would have never met you.

Another story that comes to mind was where my father had a heart attack and was in danger of dying, again, catastrophic news, but it was that very event that ultimately got me and my sh*t back together.

I also remember the moment where I realised that my dream of becoming a professional basketball player was not happening, but only after that understanding, did I become brave enough to drop everything to travel the world and investigate what I am.

So, were those events good news or bad news for me?

Who knows.

And honestly, who the fuck cares.

Over the years, I have learned to come to peace with the fact that I am not smart enough to understand the causality of life.

I have decided to enjoy my adventure under any circumstances, and that I am going to trust that the puzzle pieces are going to come together eventually.

There was one person who promoted the discovery of this psychological tranquillity within me – the British philosopher and writer Alan Watts (January 6, 1915–November 16, 1973).

Watts became famous for fusing ancient Eastern philosophy with modern psychology.

He was a fantastic writer and wrote a great number of books, but where he excelled was speaking.

There was just something zen about his voice that made me want to listen to more and more of his stories.

In my favourite talk, “Swimming Headless”, Watts warns his students of the dangers of categorising everything into gain or loss.

Watts believed that surrendering to the randomness of life can be curative and has the power to alleviate existential anxiety.

The Chinese Farmer

There is one particular analogy of this talk that I wanted to share with you: The Chinese Farmer.

Once upon a time, there was a Chinese farmer whose horse ran away.  That evening, all of his neighbours 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 neighbours 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 neighbours 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.

Allan Watts

Moral Of The Story

Are you so sure that your current biggest struggle is a bad thing?

History has shown over and over that hardship is a precondition to success.

Human beings are goal orientated creatures; we articulate ideal future blueprint after ideal future blueprint without ever doubting whether or not we are going in the right direction.

If you go one hundred miles an hour in the wrong direction, you still will not find what you need to find.

Do not be so quick to whine about your misfortune; there is always the possibility that the current challenge that you are struggling with is exactly what you need to grow into the person you need to become.

Thank you for reading,

Yours

Daniel