இ SàiWēng shī mǎ 塞翁失馬

Just one last single lonely sheet of calendar left hanging on the wall for Year 2011 with only a teeny weeny little block to be crossed out before we blast off Year 2012 when the clock strikes at midnight. Reflecting over the months, life on the overall is like a roller coaster ride with ups and downs constantly in a state of flux. Congratz to those who lived life to their fullest meeting your desired achievements and for some not faring too well please do not despair. Every cloud has a silver lining @ 天無絕人之路 tiān wú jué rén zhīlù. Ending 2011 with an idiom hopefully it may strike a chord.

 塞翁失馬;焉知非福 pinyin:*SàiWēng shī mǎ;  yān zhī fēi fú* Sài Wēng lost his horse, is it [mis]fortune? (Idiom)

There is this old man called SàiWēng 塞翁, staying at the border of the northern frontier of China, who raised horses for a living. Out of the unexpected his prized horse ran away into the nearby mountains. On hearing this bad news, the neighbours came to offer moral support to comfort him. He surprised them by not getting upset at all and said "Perhaps this may turn out to be a good thing". Sure enough a few days later his prized horse return with a wild stallion. Again news spread to the whole village with the neighbours congratulating him. This time SàiWēng replied "Perhaps this may not be such good luck after all" which puzzled the neighbours even more. The very next day his only son was eager to ride on the wild stallion. Unfortunately he was thrown off the horse, hurled a few feet into mid air. That bad landing cost him dearly who suffered a broken leg and restricted his mobility probably for months to recover. The friendly neighbours came again to console SàiWēng, who wisely responded "Perhaps this may turn out to be a good thing". Sure enough few weeks later a warlord came to town enlisting young able men for battle. A blessing in disguise for SàiWēng's son who was of no use to the army with an injured leg. Almost all the young soldiers who fought in the battle field walked the road of no return as chances of survival are slim.



Moral of the story: Life is full of changes and challenges. One has to learn to face and accept losses and not to over react to misfortunes and the same not to be overjoyed by gains or successes. Things happen for a reason.  It is not often we are as fit as a fiddle or facing shortfalls meeting our target. 人無千日好, 花無百日紅 *Pinyin: rén wú qiān rì hǎo, huā wú bǎi rì hóng* literally. people no 1000 days good (healthy), flowers no hundred days red. Which means humans do fall sick once in a while within 1000 days and flowers shall not bloom forever over hundred days. Good and bad times do not last long forever. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst ~:~ 明天會更好 @ ~:~ míngtiān huì gènghǎo:: tomorrow will be a better day.

Happy is the man who can endure the highest and lowest fortune. He who has endured such vicissitudes with equanimity has deprived misfortune of its power. ~ Seneca



Seizing this very moment to say THANK YOU to all my readers and for your invaluable and interesting comments. Wishing All A Blessed H:A:P:P:Y N:E:W Y:E:A:R 2012!!!
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Posted in: Chinese Idiom,Saiweng