outfits worn while thinking “bad luck, good luck, who knows?”
a normal, very meta week of getting dressed
I’m in my summer Traci era, which also means meta Traci is fully online. And nothing captures that better than this ancient parable: “The Old Man Lost His Horse.”
There once was an old Zen farmer. Every day, the farmer used his horse to help work his fields and keep his farm healthy.
But one day, the horse ran away. All the villagers came by and said, “We’re so sorry to hear this. This is such bad luck.”
But the farmer responded, “Bad luck. Good luck. Who knows?”
The villagers were confused, but decided to ignore him. A few weeks went by and then one afternoon, while the farmer was working outside, he looked up and saw his horse running toward him. But the horse was not alone. The horse was returning to him with a whole herd of horses. So now the farmer had 10 horses to help work his fields.
All the villagers came by to congratulate the farmer and said, “Wow! This is such good luck!”
But the farmer responded, “Good luck. Bad luck. Who knows?
A few weeks later, the farmer’s son came over to visit and help his father work on the farm. While trying to tame one of the horses, the farmer’s son fell and broke his leg.
The villagers came by to commiserate and said, “How awful. This is such bad luck.”
Just as he did the first time, the farmer responded, “Bad luck. Good luck. Who knows?”
A month later, the farmer’s son was still recovering. He wasn’t able to walk or do any manual labor to help his father around the farm.
A regiment of the army came marching through town conscripting every able-bodied young man to join them. When the regiment came to the farmer’s house and saw the young boy’s broken leg, they marched past and left him where he lay.
Of course, all the villagers came by and said, “Amazing! This is such good luck. You’re so fortunate.”
And you know the farmer’s response by now…
“Bad luck. Good luck. Who knows?”
This is one of those things that weirdly comes back to me in serendipitous times. It’s a reminder that events aren’t inherently good or bad in the moment we experience them. We tend to label things quickly based on immediate outcomes and a very narrow view—but those meanings often shift as life unfolds.
The horse running away seemed like loss, until it wasn’t. The injury seemed devastating, until it wasn’t. Sometimes we truly don’t have enough information in the moment to fix its meaning.
We live in a world that pushes us toward instant meaning (and instant everything).
We rarely see the full chain of consequences (good or bad) while we’re standing inside the moment!
With so many things in life, we just don’t know yet. So if you’re like me and tend to immediately label everything as either “this is the best thing ever” or “woe is me, LIFE IS OVER,” and then spiral into despair, repeat after me:
Bad luck. Good luck. Who knows?
Be patient and let the story unfold. You’ll never see it clearly in the middle of it.
Affiliate links included below.
LOOK 1 - worn to work
Aligne kindly gifted me this tank, and I immediately thought of the way Lindsay Sword styled it here (exactly how I envisioned it in my brain). I challenged myself to add a bit of my own flair.
LOOK 2 - worn to a celebratory dinner
Does a fifth grade graduation warrant a fancy(ish) steak dinner? Absolutely yes.
LOOK 3 - worn to work
The Knicks fits cannot and will not stop. Snagged this independently designed tee because what's more NY than Jalen Brunson x BEC?
LOOK 4 - worn to work
It's giving safari, but in the best way. Really in my longer-shorts era (personally prefer even longer than these), but then again, I'm not quite sure I (or Adam Sandler) ever left it.
LOOK 5 - worn to work
The fumes were running low on creative dressing as we neared the second-to-last day of work. I looked around and noticed at least 89% of teachers were, in fact, in their comfy clothes with Birkenstocks. Happy to be part of that statistic.
LOOK 6 - worn to the last day of school!
There is no day like the last day. It's full of gratitude, a collective exhale, and the excitement of finally getting to recharge. I told my pal that, as I've shared before, this shirt is the most superior tee of all time.
I also need to have a moment for these shorts. I ordered a few sizes to see which I liked best, and it was worth the hassle of returning the extras. The length is perfect, the thigh breathing room is exquisite, and there are no rips or distressing. WIN.
Last Week on Rambling In Style
That’s the week. Bad luck. Good luck. Who knows? We’ll find out later.
Love ya, mean it!
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I’ve heard that story on the Bluey show and loved the lesson (tell me you have a kid without telling me you have a kid)
Also love all your outfits- here for longer shorts.
I've never heard that parable before but it's such a good one - thank you for sharing it. Life is all about perspective (and excellent summer outfits of course!)