塞翁が馬 ( Blessing in Disguise)

Both the Chinese and the Japanese have a similar saying (in fact, it's made from the same Kanji, so one of the two cultures took it directly from the other, not sure who) called 塞翁が馬 (Japanese) or 塞翁失馬 (Chinese). Basically, a guy loses his horse, which seemed like bad luck, but then the horse won him a lot of money, which was good luck, but then he used the money to buy an ax and had a bad accident causing him to lose a leg (bad luck), but his handicap caused him not to have to fight in the coming war (good luck), with the ultimate lesson being you don't know what bad occurrence (curse) is actually a blessing in disguise, or what seems like a blessing actually be a curse. 

I apply 塞翁が馬 to my life almost all the time, although it might be a little naive. 

1.) When I break up with the girl I've been dating, I think, "this is just another life lesson needed to get to the girl of my dreams." 
2.) When my fantasy sports teams lose, recently I've been thinking, "better that I can concentrate on more worthy endeavors." 
3.) When I lose at dodgeball, I think, "this is a great chance to learn from the losses in pursuit of the bigger goals in dodgeball, a bigger tournament, or to become a better player for myself." 
4.) Miss a catch in dodgeball, think, "I'm setting up for the next time this guy throws a ball at me." (and it doesn't even have to be in the same game now that there's video......watch the footage and see what adjustments I should make. 
5.) Watch a bad movie and think, "well at least I didn't watch "Gigli."
6.) Donating blood hurts for a couple moments or so, but it might help someone (one pint of blood can apparently help 3 patients!)
7.) Not being blessed with supermodel good looks, athletic hype.....over the course of 28-year life, it trains you to want something despite not having the best gifts.
8.) If I library

"sometimes the correct path is the tortured one."

On the flip side, recognize the negatives:
1.) Luckily my parents are both great cooks and I enjoy great food every time I go home, but that means I haven't had the chance to cook for myself and don't know anything. - Need to work on it.
2.) I haven't ever had any major injuries or sicknesses- great for now, but will I be able to cope with it when it inevitably does hit?
3.) Working at a law firm at a job that pays pretty well feels good and comfortable, but will it translate to success in other endeavors? I feel like somewhat of a caged tiger, getting kind of rusty in other skills working at my current job.


Bottom line is, luck, much like the world, works in mysterious ways. It's better not to complain about bad luck, or bask in the glow of good luck (most people don't do that, actually, they just
Do the best of it and roll with the punches....hopefully those punches will roll back at some point.