“Maybe yes, maybe no.”

There is a story of an old farmer whose only horse he counted on to plow the fields ran away. That evening the neighbors gathered to commiserate with him and his wife. They said, “Your farm will suffer. You cannot plow. How will you survive? Surely this is a terrible thing to have happened to you.”

The farmer replied, “Maybe yes, maybe no.”

The next day the horse returned but was accompanied by a mare. And the neighbors came to congratulate him for his good fortune. “What good news! Surely this has turned out to be a good thing for you.”

The farmer again replied, “Maybe yes, maybe no.”

And then, the following day, the farmer’s son tried to saddle and ride the new wild horse. He was immediately thrown off and broke his leg. Because of his injury, he couldn’t work on the farm. The neighbors came to offer their sympathy again saying, “There is more work than only you can handle. Surely this is a terrible misfortune.”

The farmer repeated, “Maybe yes, maybe no.”

The day after that, a conscription officer came to the village to seize young men for the army. Because of the son’s broken leg he wasn’t recruited. When the neighbors came again, they said, “How fortunate! Things have worked out after all. Most young men never return alive from the war. Surely this is the best of fortunes for you!”

The farmer replied, “Maybe yes, maybe no.”

…

2020 has been an unfortunate year for many. Disproportionately effecting certain parts of the population over others. So many lost and so many disrupted.

And as bleak as things make look:

“Maybe yes, maybe no.”