Maybe (a lesson in labeling & judging).

​note: we link to our free guide to mindfulness and meditation at the bottom of the page (no email required).

Impermanence, equanimity, and labeling & judging - they all go hand-in-hand.

To wrap up this week's topic, here's a popular Taoist story that offers several valuable lessons:

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There was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years, and 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 and was thrown, breaking his leg as a result. 

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.

<<<

Lessons:

• Quite often, our initial reaction to a particular situation is misguided.
• How we view what happens causes us to suffer more than the actual happening itself.
• We should refrain from labeling & judging because...well, see the first point again.

Take these lessons into your weekend, and stop indulging the urge to label & judge when you notice it arising. To do that, you need to strengthen awareness. To do that, you need to build a consistent meditation practice. To do that, you just have to start.

note - if you missed our posts from earlier this week, take a minute to catch up:

• Everything is temporary. (most popular daily musing to date)
• The goblet story.
• Equanimity and impermanence.​

Stop dealing with the symptoms.

Stress, anxiety, self-confidence issues, the inability to stop bad habits, problems with sleep and focus, and on and on and on.

These and the other things we struggle with every day are only symptoms. 

The good news is, they all share the same root cause. The bad news is, if you don't address that root cause, the symptoms will keep coming back no matter what you do.

That's why we wrote "An owner's guide to the mind." For almost 20 years, people have been using it to address the root cause of their daily struggles.

Click here to view the contents and learn more.​