Charming or Tedious, “Who’s to Say What is Good or What is Bad?”

“It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious.”
— Oscar Wilde

Monday morning, 6:44 a.m., I slept in, well layed in bed, and snuggled with my wife.  Tomorrow I’ll be up at 5:00; I thought it wise to enjoy a little morning slumber.  I love my morning time in bed and then out of bed; I’m convinced that morning is my favorite time of day.  Are you excited about this week or have a sense of dread?  Are you looking forward to or looking back on something you did last week that will cause you pain and harm this week.  I don’t know your life, but I’m willing to listen if you are open to talking.

We met our friends Keith, Kathy, and Allie for breakfast at the Conifer Café.  The portion sizes are for giants; I order half and eat half.   Allie’s son is 17 and garbage disposal, so we gave her all our leftovers.  The restaurant was packed; there was a wait to get seated, another indication we are 100% back in business.  I did not see one mask, and that absence made me happy.

We headed home and did some chores.  I had ordered some guitar strings from Sweet Water in Fort Wayne, IN.  I ordered six sets by mistake, but that turned into a blessing.  I have never in my life strung a guitar.  I own maybe 20, can’t play very well, but enjoy strumming now and then.  My friend Nate, who plays, was strumming my new Martin and said, you need new strings.  I’ve got two guitars here, a Fender and then my Martin.  I started on the Fender first, and after successfully putting the first string on, I broke the next two. 

I watched a youtube video on how to string a guitar properly, and I’ll give it another try today.  It’s amazing what one can learn from youtube.  It’s free education for anything you would like to learn or try.  Our neighbor and his mate came over and delivered a piece of furniture we commissioned for our entryway.  It’s a mix of aspen and beetle kill, a perfect piece for an ideal spot.  They stayed around, and we made some spicy pork sliders, pasta salad, and mixed greens from our local farmer.  We watched some mind-numbing television and then got to bed early.

I’ve got a busy week; we have dinner with our friends Chris and Susan, we’re meeting at the infamous Simms Steakhouse, I’ll have a martini with stuffed blue cheese olives and a filet.  They are both in retirement mode; I’m looking forward to hearing how they are spending their time. They have a home in FL and CO; they split time between the two as we do with IN and CO.  

In my program, I learned the idea of who’s to say what is good or what is bad.  The teacher shares a story about a man with a great stallion that enters the horse into a competition and wins the best horse of the year award.  When his neighbors came and congratulated him, he said, “who’s to say what is good or what is bad?”  His neighbors were stunned; what does that even mean?  Some evil men heard about the horse and one night stole the horse from the man.  The neighbors returned to share the man’s sorrow, but he repeated, “who’s to say what is good or what is bad?”  The neighbors were stunned.

The horse is crafty and escapes from his captors and returns with a few mares that found his swagger too much not to follow.  When the stallion returned, the neighbors also returned to congratulate the man on his excellent fortune, to which he said, “who’s to say what is good or what is bad?”

The man’s son was riding one of the mares when he was thrown off and broke his leg.  The neighbors returned to show compassion for the young man, but the man repeated, “who’s to say what is good or what is bad?”  A week later, war broke out, and the army came and picked up all young men in good health to fight the battle.   The man’s son was spared due to his injury, and the man silently said, “who’s to say what is good or what is bad?”

You never know the impact of an event that occurs in your life.  It could be something that seems like a horrific event on its face, but later, you might be able to see that this event turned into a gift. For example, Christoper Reeve was an actor who played Superman and late in his career was thrown from a horse and became paralyzed from his neck down.  He decided to use his station to bring awareness to spinal injuries and raised money to find a cure for injuries like he sustained.  Later in life, he was interviewed, and the young reported ask if he would change anything in his life.  Reeve said, “nothing, I am the happiest man I know; everything happens for a reason.”

So go about your week and fight your battles, win or lose; look at the event as a lesson that will bring you a fortune down the road.  You will have good days and bad days, and the bad days allow you to appreciate the good. So begin looking at everything as a gift or opportunity, remember “who’s to say what is good or what is bad?”

“It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious.”
— Oscar Wilde