A Horse With No Name

I've been on a diet since July.  I hopped on the Herbalife train and I'm enjoying it so far.  Without being very strict with it, I've lost 12lbs in about two and a half months.  I know it would be more if I were more strict, but hey, I fully admit that I'm lazy.

Anyways, my Herbalife nutritionist guy has sort of become my therapist.  I visit him every two weeks to check on my progress and stock up on product.  Our visits usually last a good hour and half - we just talk about life and he tells me about Korean culture.

The main reason for finally kick starting losing weight was for my ankle.  This last month, I've really struggled with what's been going on.  I've been to specialists, had X-rays and an MRI, all of which have shown that my ankle was fractured during my accident last year and chronic arthritis is settling in like an unwelcome squatter taking up residence in my bones and joints.  Arthritis is a dickhead.  The orthopedic surgeon says I need surgery to remove the joint and fuse my bones together, rendering my ankle immobile for the rest of my days and always walk with a limp.  For sure I'm getting a second and third opinion because I refuse to believe that in this day and age of technology, that is my only option. 

I told this to my Herblife guy and he's such a positive person, he told me this Chinese story of Sae Ong Ji Ma.

"Sae Ong" means "old man" and "Ji Ma" means "the horse belongs", so relatively, Sae Ong Ji Ma means "the horse that belonged to the old man".

Sae Ong Ji Ma

Once there was an old man who owned a strong and powerful horse.  One day, the horse was gone, it had run away.  The old man's neighbors came to visit and said how sorry they were that the old man lost his horse.  The old man replied humbly, saying there was no need to apologize because you never know what will happen.

A few weeks later, the horse returned to the old man, accompanied by a strong female horse.  Now the old man had two strong horses.  The old man's neighbors came to congratulate him on his new acquisition.  The old man replied that there is no need for congratulations because you never know what will happen.

A while after that, the old man's son was riding the new female horse when he fell from the horse.  The son broke both of his legs.  The old man's neighbors came by to offer their condolences to which the old man replied they weren't necessary because you never know what will happen.

Two years later, there was a war.  Many young men fought in the war and lost their lives, but not the old man's son.  He couldn't fight in the war because of his injured legs, therefore his life was saved from the war.

The moral of the story is that you shouldn't be too sad when something bad happens and alternatively, not too happy when something good happens.  Sae Ong Ji Ma is the Chinese "everything happens for a reason".  It demonstrates how life gives us our ups and downs...good things happen, bad things happen, good, bad, good bad...like waves rolling in from the ocean.  We just have to go with it and learn.

I apply this to my situation and I know it could be much, much worse.  It happened, there's nothing I can do to change that, I can only move forward.  Forward is the only way to go!

Happy Onwards and Upwards Trails!

Here's a tune that really has nothing to do with this blog, other than it being about a horse.