I’ve been whining lately that the past few months have felt like an avalanche of unfortunate events, starting with Hurricane Helene. Soon after that, I got very sick, and my cough dragged on for weeks. While all that was happening, there were major upheavals at work, causing a load of stress and angst.  Then, in the midst of a particularly busy week, I drowned my computer in my bag by failing to properly close my water bottle. To top all that off, what I thought would be a fairly routine visit to the podiatrist ended with an ingrown toenail procedure that made walking painful for days. 

One evening, while enjoying one of my twice-daily foot soaks as part of my toenail healing protocol, I started thinking about a well-known Chinese fable, Good Luck, Bad Luck, Who Knows? (I like this retelling of it). 

In the fable, a series of dramatic events happen in the life of a farmer, and with each event, the people around him either declare “Such good luck!” or “Such bad luck!” depending on their judgment of the situation. Every time he hears it, he says, “Who knows. Maybe it’s good, maybe it’s bad.” He seems unfazed by these events, because whenever something objectively bad happens, it eventually results in something objectively good, and vice versa.  

I’ve always liked that fable, because it reminds me that everything is temporary, whether we judge something as good or as bad. Just because something feels a certain way in one moment, doesn’t mean it’s going to be that way forever. So instead of attaching to your judgment of the situation, why not accept that it happened, feel your feelings completely in the moment, and stay present to the shifting tides?  

Looking back on the succession of events that were bogging me down, I could see an upside to each one. Yes, the Hurricane was catastrophic and I’m not trying to diminish it in any way. But for me personally, it helped to reinforce the love I have for my town and my life here. It’s been a couple decades since I’ve truly felt at home somewhere, and I feel that way now. Even with the aftermath of the hurricane, I have no desire to leave. That fills my heart with gratitude and warmth. 

Because my cough was dragging on for so long, and I just couldn’t seem to get better, I went to the doctor (which is pretty rare for me). I was nervous to take the medicine, but it was exactly what I needed to finally clear the cough and get well! It helped me to see that I judge medicine as “bad” and that judgment only keeps me from getting the necessary care I need to get better.

Killing my laptop forced me to stop procrastinating and get a new work computer, which I was overdue for. So now, I have a brand new computer, provided for me by my job. 

Then the thing with the toe. Yes, it was much more painful than the doctor made it out to be. But everyday, morning and evening, I soak my feet for 10 minutes in an epsom salt bath. For the morning soak, I meditate. For the evening soak, I journal. That is bonus self-care time, and my feet have never felt so soft and smooth. After each soak, I slather on vaseline and now I have baby-soft feet. 

I’m sharing all this because you might also be struggling with recent events, judging them as catastrophic, devastating, and bad. That might be accurate in the moment, at least from where you stand, but that doesn’t mean that something good can’t come of it. Feel your feelings, but don’t over indulge in them. Stay present, stay focused on your desired outcome, and take the next right action. 

Good luck!