Upsiders

There is a story told of an old farmer and the series of events that come to pass in his life.

• His horse runs away.
• His horse returns…bringing with it a dozen wild horses.
• His son is thrown while breaking the wild horses injuring his arm.
• A war breaks out, and his son is exempt from duty because of his broken limb.

Back and forth it goes. At each point in the story, the villagers congratulate or console the farmer based on his revised circumstances saying, “oh, how wonderful” or “oh, such terrible news” in turn.

And each time, the farmer sagely responds “perhaps”.

Like March weather in the Midwest, our life circumstances are often multi-dimensional and capricious. They seem to change with the wind. Assigning attributes or value to events that occur becomes entirely subjective. With a few more grains of sand through the glass, that thing that was terrible turns wonderful again.

There are three people I know that consistently focus on the good in their lives. The first lives without regrets. The second lives without complaints. And, the third seeks to be grateful in every situation.

They are upsiders.

Silver linings, lessons learned, and blessings in disguise are their stock in trade. Such implied optimism might sound naïve in a world powered by uncharitable, self-righteous sound bites, but as the farmer in our story knew, it’s all a matter of perspective.

Seeing the upside in a situation or at least acknowledging the possibility of its existence is difficult if you’re not accustomed to it. It may take practice to intentionally frame your experiences positively. But it is worth the effort. Being an upsider reveals the best in others, our environment, and ourselves…and that’s a perspective we can all be grateful for.

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