Newsletter   •   Apr 11, 2024

Blessing in Disguise

April 2024

Have you heard the story of “Old man lost horse” which is the first part of the story.

A poor old man lived on the Northern border of China. One day, his stallion ran off, he couldn’t find him. In the old days, a horse was one of the most valuable and useful possessions that a person could have.

What is in your mind when you heard the first part?
……………………………………………………………………..

The old man’s neighbours felt for him and thought this was a very bad misfortune.

However, the old man did not worry, and he thought that this may actually be a blessing. A few months later, the old man’s horse returned with a mare. The mare was pregnant and gave birth to a foal. Now the man had three horses. All the villagers congratulated the old man.

The old man thought this may actually turn out to be a cause of misfortune. One day, his son fell off the stallion and broke his leg. As doctors were not well trained in 206 B.C., a broken leg meant he could never walk properly. The old man thought this may turn out to be a blessing.

One year later, the Northern tribes launched a major invasion into China. All young and able men were required to fight against the Northern invaders. Most of them died in battle and only one out of ten survived to return back to his village.

As the son was crippled, he was not required to go to the war. Therefore both the old man and his son were survived.

The whole Chinese saying is “Sai Weng Shi Ma, Yan Zhi Fei Fu” ( old man lost horse, how would you know it is not a blessing?)

I guess there is a similar saying in English “Cloud with a sliver lining”, meaning a negative occurrence may have a positive aspect to it. John Milton coined the phrase ‘silver lining’ in his poem Comus: A Mask Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634.

One of my Wednesday students came to the class last night. She travelled a long way to come to the class. However we finished the Wednesday class last week. Instead of being disappointed, she called me, which I am so glad she did. We had a lovely chat over some delicious Chinese tea. A blessing in disguise.

Many things don’t go the way we want. What really matters is how we react to all small and big things in life. I hope there are many blessing in disguise we can and will discover. Often we have to be patient to wait and see the blessing in the end.

World Tai Chi and Qi Gong day is on 27th April Saturday. We are offering a Free Tai Chi park session, starting 10am. Join me to celebrate One World, One Breath Movement, relax and recharge yourself with Tai Chi & Qi Gong in nature. Information is at https://meridian-connection.com.au/20240420-world-tai-chi-day/. Everyone is welcome!

A kind reminder of our Term 2 classes will start on 22nd April Monday.

I made a short video for you https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZLMvX3KkEY, introducing the Term 2 weekly classes. Online enrolment is open now https://meridian-connection.com.au/classes/. If you have attended Tai Chi and Qi Gong classes and are enjoying it, please share the class info with your friends and loved ones. We are driven to provide the highest quality of teaching in Adelaide, so that you can get great result from your practice.

Feel free to email or call me for a chat if you have any questions.

We look forward to seeing you in our Tai Chi & Qi Gong classes and events very soon.Yours in Tai Chi,
Fang & the team