Good thing, bad thing—who knows? 

By Doris Morisaki

I had a life-changing moment eight years ago at the end of Kendra Gillis’s yoga class at Still & Moving Center. She shared a story called “Good thing, bad thing, who knows?”—a simple parable that has shaped how I look at life ever since.

Here’s the story, as told by Madonna Hughes:

There once was a farmer who had a horse and a son.

One day, the horse ran away. The neighbors came to console him: “Oh, that’s too bad. How will you work the fields now?” The farmer simply said, “Good thing, bad thing, who knows?”

A few days later, the horse returned—and brought another horse with her. The neighbors were thrilled: “How lucky! Now you can do twice as much work!” The farmer shrugged: “Good thing, bad thing, who knows?”

The next day, the farmer’s son fell from the new horse and broke his leg. Concerned, the neighbors said, “Now he can’t help you around the farm. That’s terrible.” The farmer replied, “Good thing, bad thing, who knows?”

Soon after, a war broke out. All young men were drafted, and the villagers were worried for their futures. The farmer’s son, however, was exempt because of his broken leg. The neighbors said, “How fortunate! You get to keep your son safe.” And the farmer said, you guessed it: “Good thing, bad thing, who knows?”

I was gobsmacked… I couldn’t stop thinking about how this simple story flipped the way I see life. What seems bad can be good. What seems good…well, you might not know for weeks, months, or even years. I began looking back at my own life and noticed countless examples that popped out.

In September 2001, we were living in Staten Island while my husband, Mark, was completing his gastroenterology fellowship at a hospital in Brooklyn. That same week, his siblings were visiting from Los Angeles, and during their stay, Mark badly threw out his back while lifting his 18-month-old nephew. He spent the rest of the weekend hunched over in pain and stayed home from work to recover.

On Tuesday, September 11, every hospital in New York City went on emergency alert, bracing for mass casualties. Under normal circumstances, Mark would have been in Brooklyn—making rounds, assisting with procedures, and caring for patients amid fear and chaos. With cell service down and no way to reach him, I would have spent the day terrified, not knowing whether he was safe.

In a strange twist, a painful back injury—so inconvenient at the time—kept him home with me and our five-month-old son, Josh, on one of the most frightening days of our lives. What once felt like an obstacle revealed itself, in hindsight, as an unexpected and profound blessing.

Mark recently told me about a patient of his who fell on a dream trip to Japan. The fall was so severe that it required an MRI. You’d think this was terribly unlucky—especially while traveling—but the MRI revealed a cancerous tumor that would not have been detected until it was too late, and they were able to remove it, so she is now cancer-free.

I’m sure you all have similar stories—job losses, breakups, missed opportunities. At the moment, they can feel devastating. And sometimes you may not realize something is good or bad for days, months or years. But with time, perspective, and patience, we sometimes see that what felt like a setback was actually a step forward—or vice versa.

I’ve started applying this parable in my everyday life. Stuck behind a slow driver on the freeway? Maybe I’m not meant to rush. Waiting in a long line? That could be my guardian angel telling me to slow down. It’s surprisingly helpful in managing my stress levels for life’s daily inconveniences.

I am so thankful to Kendra for her life-changing yoga class. I wish I had heard this story earlier in life! I try to pass it on to those who haven’t heard it, especially young adults now trying to navigate life with all its joys and uncertainties.

Because really…Good thing, bad thing, who knows?