Quite often, we react emotionally to events when they are still in process. If we can keep still and take in whatever information is available (including our fear or other emotion), we will be less disturbed by our instinctive reactions.
From https://www.incendo-uk.com/leadership-lesson-chinese-farmer/by Justin Standfield
There’s a Chinese proverb that goes something like this…
A farmer and his son had a beloved stallion who helped the family earn a living. One day, the horse ran away and their neighbours exclaimed “Your horse ran away, what terrible luck!”. The farmer replied “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”
A few days later the horse returned home, leading a few wild mares back to the farm as well. The neighbours shouted out “Your horse has returned and brought several horses home with him. What great luck!” and the farmer replied “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”
Later that week, the farmer’s son was trying to break one of the mares and she threw him to the ground, breaking his leg. The villagers cried “Your son broke his leg, what terrible luck!”. The farmer replied “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”
A few weeks later, soldiers from the national army marched through town, recruiting all the able-bodied young men for the army. The farmer’s son wasn’t conscripted, because he was still recovering from his injury. His neighbours shouted “Your boy is spared, what tremendous luck!”, to which the farmer replied “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”
Many of you will have heard this story in some form before. It’s a very persuasive encouragement to adopt a balanced attitude to life events, small or large. With mindfulness, we can accept the reality around us as it unfolds and only after consideration decide whether action (by us) is needed. This is not an argument for failing to intervene in an emergency; but real emergencies are relatively rare unless our livelihood has the word “emergency” in it. And even then, staying calm in challenging circumstances raises the chance of a better outcome.
Our information about what’s happening around us is more limited than we assume. Patient waiting is a useful, though often ignored, option. If we want to improve our mindfulness and inner strength, we will have the humility to take a step back from seeing ourselves as the best judge of any situation; the context is broader than what we can see. As the Thai Master Ajahn Chah would say about many things, [it’s] “Not sure”.
From Ajahn Chah (https://www.abhayagiri.org/reflections/83-quotes-from-no-ajahn-chah)
Peace within oneself is to be found in the same place as agitation and suffering. It’s not found in a forest or on a hill top, nor is it given by a teacher. Where you experience suffering, you can also find freedom from suffering. Trying to run away from suffering is actually to run towards it.