JUDGMENT
Judgment means a stale state of mind. And mind always wants judgment, because to be in process is always hazardous and uncomfortable. Be very, very courageous, don't stop growing, live in the moment, stay in the flow of life.
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There was an old man in a village, very poor, but even kings were jealous
of him because he had a beautiful white horse.
Kings offered
fabulous prices for the horse, but the man would say, "This horse in not a horse to me, he is a person.
And how can you sell a person, a friend?" The man was poor, but he never sold the horse. One morning he found that the horse was not in the stable.
The whole village gathered and they said, "You foolish old man! We know that someday the horse would be stolen. It would have been better to sell it.
What a misfortune!"
The old man said, "Don't go so far as to say that. Simply say that the horse is not in the stable.
This is the fact; everything else is a judgment.
Whether it is a misfortune or a blessing I don't know,
because this is just a fragment. Who knows what is going to follow it?"
People laughed at the old man. They had always
known that he was a little crazy. But after two weeks, suddenly
one night the horse returned. He had not been stolen, he had escaped into the wild. And not only that, he brought a dozen wild horses with him. Again the people gathered and they said, "Old man, you were right. This was not a misfortune,
it has indeed proved to be a blessing." The old man said, "Again
you are going to far. Just say that the horse is back
. . . who knows whether it is a blessing
or not? It is only a fragment.
You read a single word in a sentence – how can you judge the whole book?"
This time the people could not say much but inside they knew he was wrong.
Twelve beautiful horses
had come . . . The old man had an only son who started to train the wild horses. Just a week later he fell from a horse and his legs were broken. The gathered
again and again they judged. They said, "Again
you proved right! It was a misfortune.
Your only son has lost the use of his legs, and in your old age he was your only support. Now you are poorer than ever." The old man said, "You are obsessed with judgment. Don't go that far. Say only that my son has broken his legs. Nobody knows whether this is a misfortune
or a blessing. Life comes in fragments and more is never given to you at once."
It happened that after a few weeks the country went to war, and all the young men of the town were forcibly
taken for the military. Only the old man's son was left, because he was crippled.
The whole town was crying and weeping, because it was a losing fight and they knew most of the young people would never come back. They came to the old man and they said, "You were right, old man – this has proved a blessing.
Maybe your son is crippled, but he is still with you. Our sons are gone forever."
The old man said again, "You go on and on judging. Nobody
knows! Only say this, that your sons have been forced to enter into the army and my son has not been forced. But only God, the total, knows whether
this is a blessing or misfortune!
