Maybe

Lovely little zen story. There are more here if you are interested.

Maybe

Once upon a time there was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.

“Maybe,” the farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed.

“Maybe,” replied the old man.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.

“Maybe,” answered the farmer.

The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.

“Maybe,” said the farmer.

I got to thinking about this particular story last night when Eva used up my shampoo in her bath. All of the shampoo. A whole bottle. Here's my version of the above story-

Eva was taking a bath. She asked me, "Momma, can I use some of that shampoo up there in my bath?" And I said yes. I left the room and came back. She said, "Momma, I love the way this shampoo feels on my legs. I used the whole bottle. Do you have anymore?"

I said, "No, there is no more shampoo. Did you really use the whole bottle?" She said yes. I thought. "Oh no! She used the whole bottle. That is horrible. That cost $10 for that bottle of shampoo. That is horrible. Now I have no more shampoo. What will I do now?"

I left the room and I thought, "Wait a second. I hated that shampoo. It made my hair feel dull and flat. This is great. All of that shampoo is gone and I didn't have to trudge through using up that whole bottle. This is great. I couldn't wait until I had finished up that bottle of shampoo. This is great!"

The next morning I got up and wanted to take a shower and wash my hair. I realized that I didn't have anymore shampoo. Eva had used up all of it in her bath. I thought to myself, "Oh no this is awful. I wanted to wash my hair and I have no shampoo. I have to make a special trip to the store to get some. This is awful. I don't feel like it. I wish she hadn't used up all of the shampoo."

And of course you know how the story goes. Once we ended up at the store to buy shampoo, the brand I had been wanting to try out last time was on sale and there was a fragrance-free variety that I hadn't seen before that turned out to be just the thing. I was so happy that Eva had used up all of the shampoo in her bath the night before...

I am really looking forward to trying out my new shampoo. I bet I am going to love it!

Maybe yes. Maybe no.