Good? Bad?

An old man and his son worked a small farm, with only one horse to pull the plot. One day, the horse ran away.
"How terrible," sympathized the neighbors. "What bad luck."
"Who knows whether it is bad luck or good luck," the farmer replied.
A week later, the horse returned from the mountains, leading five wild mares into the barn.
"What wonderful luck!" said the neighbors.
"Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?" answered the old man.
The next day, the son, trying to tame one of the horses, fell and broke his leg.
"How terrible! What bad luck!"
"Bad luck? Good luck?"
The army came to all the farms to take the young men for war. The farmer's son was of no use to them, so he was sparred.
"Good? Bad?"

It's a short, simple little story I've always liked. While there isn't too much meat to it, it's the meaning that's important. In essence, it states that there are no such things as good events or bad events. Good and bad events are merely a matter of perspective, perspectives that often change with the passage of time.

I'm right at that point again where I'm at the cusp of change. It's nothing tangible, merely a strong feeling that is telling me that everything I was worried about will work out. To quote Modest Mouse "I love life's surprises so much I don't want to know what's ahead." All the bad things, or at least what I viewed as bad at the time, have seemed to work out for the best now. I feel better now. Hell, I feel, which is a good change of pace. Unfortunatly two of my friends have been having a hard time.

I've been thinking about one of them a bit today, and how bad her situation seems to be right now. I'm not even sure what I want to write in this entry. I've rewritten it a few times, and I've decided that since she will likely be the main person to read this one I might as well direct it towards her.

When I become depressed, words of encouragement tend to do nothing for me. I'll spare you them for fear of it sounding too disingenuous. If you are reading this, then I just first want to thank you for taking an interest in me (it really does mean a lot to me). Secondly, while I don't presume to claim I know you that well, I tend to be a good judge of character. Whether you know it or not you seem strong, the type of strong that only comes from facing many hardships. Just seeing that gives me confidence that things will work out for you. After I got your message today I was worried about you, but I know you'll pull through. Hopefully that brings you some encouragement.