Derek Sivers shares a fable that I find particularly interesting.  I am reading Garth Stein's excellent The Art of Racing in the Rain right now, and I find parallels to the book in this fable.  I think both illustrate a piece of wisdom about life that is far too easy to ignore -- if you ever notice it at all.  Allow me to try to intermesh the two.

But first, the fable:

A farmer had only one horse.  One day, his horse ran away.

All the neighbors came by saying, “I'm so sorry. This is such bad news. You must be so upset.”   The man just said, “We'll see.”

A few days later, his horse came back with twenty wild horses.  The man and his son corraled all 21 horses.

All the neighbors came by saying, “Congratulations! This is such good news. You must be so happy!”   The man just said, “We'll see.”

One of the wild horses kicked the man's only son, breaking both his legs.

All the neighbors came by saying, “I'm so sorry. This is such bad news. You must be so upset.”   The man just said, “We'll see.”

The country went to war, and every able-bodied young man was drafted to fight. The war was terrible and killed every young man, but the farmer's son was spared, since his broken legs prevented him from being drafted.

All the neighbors came by saying, “Congratulations! This is such good news. You must be so happy!”   The man just said, “We'll see.”

In personal and professional pursuits, it's all to easy to overthink and lose yourself in the drama of the moment.  It's equally easy to look around you and make external things wholly responsible for whatever you're going through.

Next time, ask yourself: what have I done to put myself in this position?  How do I prepare for what's next?

Stein notes that a good race driver executes on his immediate situation, and then instantly looks down-track to the next turn, realizing that he needs to work towards a favorable outcome there, too.  Be in the moment, but always realize another moment is coming.

Don't go nuts with every victory, and don't beat yourself up for every loss.  Do what you can to stay centered.  It's hard as hell, but a fight worth fighting.

And for those moments when life seems out of control due to circumstances beyond your control?  What do you?  Do you fight, flee, celebrate or mourn?

We'll see.

An excellent collection of single-pane illustrations detailing life's grandest lessions, by Barcelonan artist Alex Noriega.  Every one of these is frameable.

Good guidelines for these times:

My first-order response is that my most important advice comes by example and I have little idea what kind of message is actually being received.  Keep in mind that children often respond to your strengths with niche-finding strategies, and thus deviation, rather than copying strategies.

Otherwise, a long time ago I told Yana to take calculus and statistics; even if she hates them she'll know what side of that divide she stands on.  I am encouraging of learning languages, driving modest Japanese cars, and ordering the most unappealing-sounding dish on the menu of a good restaurant.  On investing it's buy and hold all the way.  Use TimeOut guides when you travel and when you are eating in third world countries avoid walls.  I'm not a big fan of debt; debt is worth it only if you're earnings-obsessed and I don't recommend that for most people.  Don't expect to be too happy, that is counterproductive.  I've mentioned that future job descriptions may be quite fluid and unpredictable from today's vantage point.  Being "good with people," combined with smarts and a focus on execution, will never wear out.  The reality is that I hardly have any useful advice.

"For as this appalling ocean surrounds the verdant land, so in the soul of man there lies one insular Tahiti, full of peace and joy, but encompassed by all of the horrors of the half-lived life."

HERMAN MELVILLE (1819-1891)

Rarely does a single webpage contain so many life lessons so full of candor and bravery. Selected excerpts:

If I let it affect everything, it’s gonna own everything. I don’t deny it or pretend it’s not there, but if I don’t allow it to be bigger than it is, then I can do everything else. My happiness grows in direct proportion to my acceptance, and in inverse proportion to my expectations. Acceptance is the key to everything. If you don’t have someone calling you on your shit, you’re lost. Discipline is just doing the same thing the right way whether anyone’s watching or not. No matter how much fame you have, it’s not something that belongs to you. If I’m famous, that doesn’t belong to me -- that belongs to you. If you can’t remember who I am, I’m no longer famous. Whatever terrible thing is going on, it’s going on until you find out that it’s not. So get to that part as quickly as possible.

It's impossible not to admire such perspective. [Via kottke]

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” -- Ralph Waldo Emerson