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A long time ago there was a wise old Indian man who lived in a village. He was a man of gentle and quite manners and had an extremely beautiful horse that truly was his friend, his companion.

One day the old man's horse disappeared. When the villagers heard that the horse was missing they all gathered around him.

"Oh, old man, this is very bad fortune! Now you have no horse." The old man looked at each villager with kind, soft eyes and said,

'It is not bad fortune. It is not good fortune. Just say the horse ran away. We do not know the whole story." The villagers went away shaking their heads because they knew that this was very bad fortune.

A month later the old man's horse returned followed by twenty other magnificent horses. Each one was spirited and bursting with vitality and exuberance. The villagers ran forward to the old man.

"Oh old man. You were right it was not bad fortune that your horse ran away. It was good fortune. Now not only do you have your horse back but also you have twenty more beautiful horses. This is good fortune!" The old man slowly shook his head and with utmost compassion said,

"It is not good. It is not bad. Just say that the horse returned. We don't know the whole story." The people went away shaking their heads. They knew that it was very, very good fortune to have so many beautiful horses.

The old man had one son who started to break in the horses. Every day the son would wake early to continue his work. One morning the old man came to watch his son. The young man had a natural grace as he swung on to the bareback of a wild Pinto. The horse bucked violently to the left and twisted to the right. Suddenly with a ferocious kick of his hind legs the Pinto tossed the son high in the air. The old man's son landed in a crumpled heap in the dust. Both of his legs were broken. All the inhabitants of the village gathered with great moaning and commiserating.

"Oh, no! Oh no! Old man, you are right. Your horses returning to you were a very bad fortune. Now your only son has both legs broken and is crippled. Who is going to take care of you in your old age? This is very bad fortune." The old man pulled himself upright and with respect said,

"It is not bad fortune. It is not good fortune. Just say my son broke his legs. We do not know the whole story." The villagers walked away, shaking their heads. They knew it was very bad fortune for the old man.

A Great War broke out across the land and the great Chief called all the young man of the villages to battle. It was a bad war and the villagers knew they would not see their sons again. Once more they gathered around the old man.

"Old man, you are right. It is not a bad fortune that your son broke his legs because, even though he is crippled, you have your son. We will never see our sons again. It was good fortune for you.' And once again the old man said,

"It is not good fortune, It is not bad fortune. We don't know the whole story."

- The author is Denise Lynn from her book "Past Lives and Present Dreams."

She comments: "Every experience that we have ever had, everything that has been done to us, and everything that we have done to others has been extremely important for us. To the extent that we can forgive and accept ourselves exactly as we are enables us to become a more powerful force and the magnificent being we now are."