Taken from Body, Soul, and Angels website by Rudolf Steiner:
How often have we judged something bad and reacted with negative emotions, only to find later it was one of the best things that had ever happened? Equanimity is important as you progress in your spiritual development for with greater abilities come greater responsibilities. Said Rudolf Steiner: "The equilibrium we already appear to possess is less important than practicing what we lack. Though life may have taught us much in this respect, the abilities we gain by our own effort are what count. "
An old Chinese tale might be of help here. The Old Man had a horse which ran away and the neighbors said “How sad, how bad.” and he said, “We’ll see. We’ll see.” Three days later the horse returned with four other horses and the neighbors said, “What good fortune!” The Old Man said, “We’ll see. We’ll see.” The next week his son was breaking one of the new horses and fell and broke his leg and the neighbors said, “How sad, how bad.” The Old Man said, “We’ll see. We’ll see.” The next week the young men in the neighborhood were all drafted, but his son could not go due to the broken leg. Their group was totally killed in action one month later.
How often have we judged something bad and reacted with negative emotions, only to find later it was one of the best things that had ever happened? Equanimity is important as you progress in your spiritual development for with greater abilities come greater responsibilities. Said Rudolf Steiner: "The equilibrium we already appear to possess is less important than practicing what we lack. Though life may have taught us much in this respect, the abilities we gain by our own effort are what count. "
An old Chinese tale might be of help here. The Old Man had a horse which ran away and the neighbors said “How sad, how bad.” and he said, “We’ll see. We’ll see.” Three days later the horse returned with four other horses and the neighbors said, “What good fortune!” The Old Man said, “We’ll see. We’ll see.” The next week his son was breaking one of the new horses and fell and broke his leg and the neighbors said, “How sad, how bad.” The Old Man said, “We’ll see. We’ll see.” The next week the young men in the neighborhood were all drafted, but his son could not go due to the broken leg. Their group was totally killed in action one month later.
