the long goodbye

llBe,WillBe

Alongtimeago,inthenorthofChina,edthefinesthorsinallthe

ilywashappyandhewasrichinfriendstoo.

Onenight,theman’sprizedhor,abigblackstallion,manwassadasitwas

sfromalloverthedistrictcametosayhowsorrytheywere.

Theoldmansaidonly,“Whatwillbe,willbe.”Andhewentonwithhiswork.

Monthslater,thevillagerssawtheblackstallioncominghome,leadingtwobeautifulwhitehors.

Thevillageraidacheer,happyforthereturnoftheoldman’shorandtheadditionoftwo

farmerthankedthemfortheirhappinessandsaidquietlyforalltohear,“Whatwill

be,willbe.”Andhewentbacktohiswork.

Theoldman’sonlysonlovedhors,soitwasnaturalfortheoldmantogivehimtheblack

manbegantoteachhissontoride.

Unfortunately,onhisfirstlesson,couldnot

newassaddened,andcametotelltheold

manjustlookedatthemandsaid,“Whatwillbe,willbe.”And

hereturnedtohiswork.

Inafewweeks,gnthimissariesto

eyarrivedattheold

man’svillage,theytookonesonfromeachhome.

Atthehomeoftheoldman,theyfoundthecrippledboy,ewasnotfitfor

fighting,tchedthesoldiers

marchingawayoverthedustyplains,theoldmanwhisperedtohimlf,“Whatwillbe,willbe.”

Andhewentonwithhiswork.

usFlyer

Ireallydon’likethem,butIamalittlenervousabouttheflyingpart.

Onetime,oughIwasworriedaboutit,o

ledatme.

nervousthatIwas

nicking.

stabouttograbsomeone’shandwhentheolder

womangrabbedmyhandandsaid,“I’ldyourhand?”

Well,Iwasshockedandsaid,“Okay.”Weheldeachother’netookoffand

climbedintothesky.

ladyandItalkedabout

medtoknowalotabouttheworld.

Justastheflightwascomingtoanend,thepilotannouncedonthespeaker,“Ladiesand

gentlemen,,Iamretiringafter30

efamilyisonboardtocelebratemylastlandinginajet.I’mgoingto

makeitassmoothasglassforyou.”

ot

y,lane

glidedtoasmoothstop,everyoneonboardbrokeintoapplauandcheered.

Inthefrontoftheplane,

hiswife!

ayout,Isaidtotheflight

attendants,“Isn’titstrangethatthepilot’swifehasneverbeenonaplane?”Thetwoflight

attendantslaughedandsaid,“mswasaflightattendantfortwentyyears.”Andwith

that,Irealizedthatwhatshehaddonewastohelpme.

yWaysofSleeping

’ssomethingthatallmammals,birds,andreptilesdo.

Weallneedsleep,butdifferentspecieshaveadaptedtoitindifferentways,accordingtothe

,infact,tellalotaboutananimalbystudyingthewayit

sleeps.

Forexample,forhumans,it’snaturaltoliedownonone’sbackorstomachanddriftofftosleep.

That’asyenoughtodowhenyou’reatthetopofthefoodchainanddon’thavenaturalenemies.

Lyingdowntosleepleavesoneopentoattack,soonlythocreatureswithfewenemiesregularly

sleeplikethat.

Cautionandsafetyareattheforefrontofmanyanimals’mindswhensleeping.

Didyouknowthatelephantssleepstandingup?Thesameistrueforcows,hors,andsheep.

Whentheanimalsgointothedreamstate,,themajorityoftheirsleepoccurs

whiletheyarestanding.

Manyofthes

abilitytolocktheirlegjointsandsleepwhilestandinggivesthemanadvantageiftheycome

underattackwhilesnoozing.

Imaginethedisadvantageiftheyhadtowakefromsleepwhilelyingonthegroundandthenri

totheirlegsbeforetakingflight.

Birdssleepinasimilarway,anditisassumed,forsimilarreasons—mplylocktheir

clawsaroundtheirperch,lowsthemtoenterthesleepstateinarelatively

safelocation,highupinatree.

Asaruleofthumb,thesmallertheanimalis,esneedonlytwo

eveloped

humansrequireabouteighthoursaday,whichisacoupleofhoursmorethantheirclostcousins,

taboutit,yhavemanywaystogetit.

order

There’sanexpressioninEnglishthatsays:“Sometimesyoucan’tetheforestbecauofallthe

trees.”Doyouknowwhatthatmeans?Itmeansthatifyoufocustoomuchonthedetails,you

mightnotbeabletoethe“bigpicture”.

ersarepeoplewhosneak

deragent’sjobistoarchforandfindtheitemssmugglers

arehidingastheycrosstheborderintoadifferentcountry.

Oneday,onkey’sback,therewasa

ancameclortotheborder,theagentgrewsuspicious.“Surelythis

manistryingtosmugglevaluablegoodsintomycountry,”hethought.

ntarchedthroughthehaybut

ddonothingbutallowthemanwiththedonkeytopass.“Youare

asmuggler,”saidtheagent.“Andoneday,Iwillfindwhatyouaresmuggling.”

Everydayformanyyears,thesamemanapproachedtheborderleadinghisdonkeywiththeload

ryday,theagentarchedinvainforthevaluablesthathewassure

ashemight,theagentwasneverabletofindanything.

Manyyearspasd,,hemetthesmugglerontheroad.“Iamretired

now,”hesaid.“itthatyouweresmugglingalltho

years?Iwouldverymuchliketoknow.”

Thesmugglersmiledandsaidsimply,“Donkeys.”

nthadnotentheforestbecauofallthetrees.

omesTrue

Haveyoueverfeltunhappyaboutyourhome?Howaboutyoursituationinlife?Doyouwantto

makesomechanges,butcannotfigureouthowtodoit?

Well,dwithhiswifeandchildrenina

asalwaysnoiinhishouashischildrenplayed,laughedandsang.

Nomatterwhereheturned,hecouldfindnopeaceatall.

andecidedtoekadvicefroma

asawilady,

sheimmediatelyhadananswerforhim.

“Gohomeandbringallofyourfarmanimalsindoorstoliveinyourhou,”advidthewoman.

“Bringinyoursheep,hors,cows,chickens,dogsandgee,”thoughtthisto

cetheoldwomanwasknownfarandwideforherwisdom,heagreedtodo

homeandbroughtinsideallthefarmanimalshehadinhisposssion.

Asyoucanimagine,malsmadeallkindsofnoi.

Whereverhewentinhishou,

chickenscluckedandthecowsbawled.

Themancouldfindnocomfort,nopeaceatall,sohewentbacktoconsultwiththewiold

tenedpatientlytohiscomplaint,andthenoffered

somenewadvice.“Gohomeandtakealloftheanimalsoutofyourhome,”shesaid.

Themanwasconfud,asithadbeenonlyafewdayssinceshehadadvidhimtobringthemall

hewaswi,heagreedtofollowherinstructions.

urpri,therewasquietand

tranquilityinhishome.

Sometimes,weneedtoehowbadthingscangetbeforeweappreciatewhatwealreadyhave.