I know I said I’d abstain from posting for a couple of weeks, but I found this lovely video and I had to share. As another year is upon us, I find myself pondering that classic wish, “Happy New Year.” It’s not years that are happy, though, it’s people. Things just, well, happen and we are the ones who attribute meaning to them.

It’s all very much like that classic Chinese story I share on Pearseus:

A farmer and his son had a beloved stallion who helped the family earn a living. One day, the horse ran away and their neighbors exclaimed, “Your horse ran away, what terrible luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”

A few days later, the horse returned home, leading a few wild mares back to the farm as well. The neighbors shouted out, “Your horse has returned, and brought several horses home with him. What great luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”

Later that week, the farmer’s son was trying to break one of the mares and she threw him to the ground, breaking his leg. The villagers cried, “Your son broke his leg, what terrible luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”

A few weeks later, soldiers from the national army marched through town, recruiting all able-bodied boys for the army. They did not take the farmer’s son, still recovering from his injury. Friends shouted, “Your boy is spared, what tremendous luck!” To which the farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”

Such was my frame of mind when I saw the video below by Kristina Kuzmic. Like her, I tend to focus on my failings instead of successes, so this video made me have a rethink. For, you know, maybe the key to a happy new year is not what that year brings us, but how we deal with it.

Enjoy and may you be truly happy in 2018!