[The following story is told in the great film Charlie Wilson's war, starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. It is short and simple, an ancient tale, variations of which have been used for centuries. We thought it would very well complement Swifty Flame-Anderson's recent article Life is Wobbly.]
A boy is given a horse on his 14th birthday. Everyone in the village says, "Oh how wonderful."
But a Zen master who lives in the village says, "We shall see."
The boy falls off the horse and breaks his foot. Everyone in the village says, "Oh how awful."
The Zen master says, "We shall see."
The village is thrown into war and all the young men have to go to war. But, because of the broken foot, the boy stays behind. Everyone says, "Oh, how wonderful."
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