Blessing in Disguise - 塞翁失马，焉知非福

塞翁失马，焉知非福
(sai4 weng1 shi1 ma3, yan1 zhi1 fei1 fu2)

Literally, this classic Chinese idiom means: Although Sai Weng (name of the person) lost a horse, but who knows it is not for his own blessing?

This classic idiom comes to my mind, as I was reflecting my new year with H1N1 in the previous article.

The idiom is by itself a summary of the story that goes like this:
　　以前在北边的边塞地方有一个人善于推测人事吉凶祸福的人，大家都叫他塞翁，有一天，塞翁的马从马厩里逃跑了，越过边境一路跑进了胡人居住的地方，邻居们知道这个消息都赶来慰问塞翁不要太难过，塞翁一点都不难过，反而笑笑说：“我的马虽然走失了，但这说不定是件好事呢？” 　　

Long time ago, at the northern border of China, lived an old wise man who goes by the name of 塞翁 (Sai Weng). One day, his horse ran away from the stable, crossed the border and entered the region or the barbarians. Knowing this, all his relatives and friends came over and comforted him. But he wasn't worried, instead he laughed and said,"Although my horse is gone, how do we know that it is not a good thing?"

过了几个月，这匹马自己跑回来了，而且还跟来了一匹胡地的骏马，邻居们听说这个事情之后，又纷纷跑到塞翁家来道贺，塞翁这回反而皱起眉头对大家说：“白白得来这匹骏马恐怕不是什么好事喔！” 　　

A few months has passed, the lost horse suddenly returned. Not only that, it brought another great barbarian horse with it. When the neighbors heard about this, they came over and congratulated him. But SaiWeng frowned and said,"I gain this great stead for nothing, it may not be a good thing at all!"

塞 翁有个儿子很喜欢骑马，他有一天就骑着这匹胡地来的骏马出外游玩，结果一不小心从马背上摔了下来跌断了腿，邻居们知道了这件意外又赶来塞翁家，慰问塞翁， 劝他不要太伤心，没想到塞翁并不怎么太难过、伤心，反而淡淡的对大家说：“我的儿子虽然摔断了腿，但是说不定是件好事呢！” 　　邻居每个人都莫名 其妙，他们认为塞翁肯定是伤心过头，脑筋都糊涂了。

SaiWeng has a son who loved horse-riding. One day, he rode this barbarian horse to go out for a tour. Unfortunately, because of his carelessness, he fell from the horse and broke his leg. When the neighbors heard about this, they came over to SaiWeng's house to comfort him, and asked him not to be sad. Shockingly, the old man was not sad, but plainly replied to the visitors,"though my son has broken his leg, but it may still be a good thing, you know!" The neighbors were puzzled, they thought that the old man was too saddened and could not think clearly.

过了不久，胡人大举入侵，所有的青年男子都徵调去当兵，但是胡人非常的剽悍，所以大部分的年轻男子都战 死沙场，塞翁的儿子因为摔断了腿不用当兵，反而因此保全了性命，这个时候邻居们才体悟到，当初塞翁所说的那些话里头所隐含的智慧。

Not long after that, the northern barbarians started to invade the border. All able-bodied man were drafted for military service. But because the barbarians were too strong, most of the young men died in the battle. SaiWeng's son could not join the army because of his broken leg, and because of that, he kept his life. Only then the neighbors realized the wisdom hidden in the word spoken by this wiseman.

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Whether it is blessing in disguise or not, as human being, we are so limited and finite that we can never foresee what will happen in the future. We can only trust in the One who is infinite, in control, and know about the future... and that is God.

Blessings - may come in material form, may come in terms of promotion, perks, money and so on.. but it may not be so all the time. Sometimes, disaster and sickness can be a form of blessings too.

So, what should we do now? should we doubt every good thing that happens to us? or should we always look at the dark and gloomy thing to praise God? There are three things that we can do:
1. Giving thanks to the Lord always for all the good things and the bad things that is happening around us,
2. trusting Him that He is in control
3. knowing that He loves us

God bless