Judgment: a parable

There lived an old man in a village. He was very poor, but even the kings envied him because he had a beautiful white horse. The kings paid a very high price for it, but the old man always said:

The old man was poor, but he did not sell the horse.
Once he saw that the horse was not in the manger. The whole village gathered and people said:

• You are a stupid old man. We know that one day it would be like that. It would be better if you sold the horse. What a misfortune for you.
• Don't go too far in saying that. Simply say that the horse is not in its place, - the old man answered them. - That is the fact, the rest is judgment. Whatever happened, whether it was a misfortune or a blessing, I don't know, because it was just an episode. Who knows what will happen next.

People laughed at the old man, but only 15 days later, at night, the horse returned. The horse had not been stolen, he had simply escaped to freedom, and now he had even brought a dozen horses with him. People gathered again and said:

• Old man, you were right. This was not a misfortune, but a blessing.
• You are going too far again. Just say that the horse has returned, who knows whether this is a blessing or not. It was just an episode. You have only read one word in the phrase, how can you judge the whole book?

The old man had only one son. He began to ride, drive and train horses. Only a week later, he fell from his horse and broke both his legs. The people gathered again to judge.

• You have proven yourself right again. This is a tragedy. Your only son has lost both legs, and at this age he is your only support.
• You are simply obsessed with judging. Don't go that far. Just say that my son has broken his legs. Life comes in pieces, and we are not given more than that.

It so happened that a few weeks later a war broke out, and all the young men went to the army. The whole village was screaming and crying, because they knew that most of the young men would not return. They came to the old man and said.

• You are right, old man. Now it is obvious that it was a blessing. Although your son is disabled, he is with you, and our sons are gone forever.

The old man said.

• You continue to judge. No one knows that. Just say that your sons are fit for the army and mine are not. Only God, the Absolute, knows whether it is a misfortune or a blessing.

Judgment means a frozen state of mind. The mind is always trying to judge because being in a state of development is dangerous and uncomfortable. In reality, the journey never ends. One part ends, but another begins instead, one door closes, another opens. You reach the top, but another, higher, appears. Life is an endless journey.