OnlineBookClub.org

Marsha JJ wrote: ↑01 Jul 2022, 19:13 What's your favorite quote or quotes from "Reconfigurement"? My favorite so far is "You have go-go years, slo-go years and no-go years. Guess what, the no-go years are not when you travel."
- I appreciate this idea because I believe in the strategy of integrating travel throughout your life, not waiting until you retire.

In a small village in rural Afghanistan, there lived a poor but wise farmer. One day his horse ran away. His neighbors came by to offer their sympathy, saying “what a terrible misfortune.” But the wise old farmer simply scuffed his feet in the soil and said “perhaps.” The next day the missing horse returned, leading an entire herd of beautiful wild horses. The neighbors came to celebrate, saying “how wonderful.” All the wise farmer said is, “perhaps.” And the next day, the farmer's only son went to tame one of the wild horses. In the process, he broke his leg. The neighbors all came by to commiserate, saying “how awful,” and again, the wise farmer only said, “perhaps.”

The next day, the forces of the local warlord came down to forcibly impress all the young men of the village and lead them to war, but because of his fractured leg, the farmer's son was left behind. Again, the neighbors came by to offer congratulations, but all the wise farmer said was, “perhaps.” The moral of this two-sided story is that all situations, no matter how terrible they appear on surface, have within them the seeds and the potential for good.

Mrs D O wrote: ↑02 Jul 2022, 11:50

In a small village in rural Afghanistan, there lived a poor but wise farmer. One day his horse ran away. His neighbors came by to offer their sympathy, saying “what a terrible misfortune.” But the wise old farmer simply scuffed his feet in the soil and said “perhaps.” The next day the missing horse returned, leading an entire herd of beautiful wild horses. The neighbors came to celebrate, saying “how wonderful.” All the wise farmer said is, “perhaps.” And the next day, the farmer's only son went to tame one of the wild horses. In the process, he broke his leg. The neighbors all came by to commiserate, saying “how awful,” and again, the wise farmer only said, “perhaps.”

The next day, the forces of the local warlord came down to forcibly impress all the young men of the village and lead them to war, but because of his fractured leg, the farmer's son was left behind. Again, the neighbors came by to offer congratulations, but all the wise farmer said was, “perhaps.” The moral of this two-sided story is that all situations, no matter how terrible they appear on surface, have within them the seeds and the potential for good.

Sorry it's so long, but I think the above is just such a wonderful combination of wise words and humour. It made me laugh but also think deeply about the moral it contains. Using that story was a great way to communicate something important to the reader. It's too good to forget. In the OBC interview with E. Alan Fleischauer he discloses how having a mild stroke helped him access his ability to write. He was able to see the potential for good within his own misfortune, so is sharing genuinely helpful advice.