It can get worse. It can get better.

A good friend of mine reached out to me with the following:

"My favorite massage teacher in the whole world used to say, "If it can get worse, it can get better." and I want to hear your story about that."

This is where my understanding is at the moment:

How we see a situation is based on our judgment of it. And, whether we know it or not, we’re always judging. Consequently, we give a situation a path to a certain outcome based on the energy we give it with our judgment.

So, if we see a situation as bad, then we give it permission and momentum to develop in that direction. And if we see a situation as a doorway to better possibilities, then our thoughts direct creative energy to the situation; guiding it to evolve in the direction of our beliefs.

Over the last few years a creed developed for me that still stands unchallenged by my experiences. A set of three “rules”. The first two don’t pertain to the topic at hand, but the third is: Even “bad” is “good”.

I could give you actual stories from life that illustrate how even the “bad” is “good” - like being late for work or school only to find out that your tardiness saved you from what could've been a life-changing accident. I’m sure you can think of a few of your own. But I recently came upon this story while listening to Alan Watts on YouTube and thought this Taoist story will do.

Maybe

There is a Taoist story of 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.

In response to my dear friend I would say:

Life has left me many clues regarding how it works.

I wonder how many of them I’ve missed and have yet to figure out.

Life has been patient with me.

And I aim to be patient with it.

Life takes the path of least resistance.

And I aim to follow it.

If it can get worse,

It can get better.

The possibilities outnumber the stars.

The probabilities I can count on my fingers.

I Am the Creator of my destiny.