Strong Opinion Lightly Held…

I came across this ancient story, which has so much wisdom for the practice of futures thinking. Thought of sharing with my connections…

A farmer and his son had a beloved horse who helped
their family earn a living. One day, the horse ran away, and all the neighbors came around and said, “No, your horse ran away, what terrible luck,” and the farmer said, “Maybe, maybe not.”

A few days later, the horse returned, and he led back a few other
wild horses with him, and all the neighbors gathered round and they said, “Your horse came back, and brought more horses with it, what good luck.” The farmer says, “Maybe, maybe not.”

Later that week, the farmer’s son was trying to train one of
the new wild horses, and that horse threw his onto the ground, and broke his leg. Now, the neighbors came back around and said, “No, the new horse broke your son’s leg, what terrible luck.” The farmer said, “Maybe, maybe not.”

The next week, soldiers came marching into town, and they were looking to recruit boys for the army. When they came to the farmer’s house, they couldn’t take his son because he had a broken leg. Now, the neighbors gathered around and said, “Your boy has been spared because of his broken leg, what good luck.” The farmer said, “Well,
maybe, maybe not.” We’ll see.

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