When Good is Bad and Bad is Good

Many of us have heard the Taoist parable about the Chinese farmer who’s response to everything is, “Good news, bad news, who knows?” When the farmer loses his horse, it seems bad until the horse comes back with another horse which seems good until his son falls off and breaks his leg which seems bad until all the able-bodied young men are required to fight in the emperor’s war which seems good ...

The same is true for Elizabeth in The Paper Bag Princess written by Robert Munsch and illustrated by Michael Martchenko. Princess Elizabeth’s life is good—she’s going to marry Prince Ronald. But then a dragon “smashed her castle, burned all her clothes with his fiery breath and carried off” her beloved betrothed, Prince Ronald. Bad, indeed!

So does Elizabeth dust herself off and update her profile on MajesticMatch.com to search for a replacement royal prince? No way. She dons a paper bag and follows the “trail of burnt forests and horses’ bones” until she finds the dragon. She outsmarts the dragon and rescues Prince Ronald who is completely blind to her her feats of bravery and cunning and can only notice that Elizabeth is, “a mess!” Prince Ronald just sees “bad.”

They don’t get married. Yay!

On her quest, Elizabeth found something no dragon could ever take from her and no prince could ever give her—inner strength. Good news!

But really, none of this is good, bad, right or wrong. It just is. In literature all the “bad” stuff that happens to characters (the plot) is all part of the bigger plan that ends up shaping the character’s arc. In that sense, all the "bad" stuff that happens is "right."

The same is true for the plot that is our life. When we judge something as “bad” we waste a lot of time and energy resisting what is and sometimes miss the opportunities hidden beneath the ash and rubble. We never know where the trail of burnt forests and horses’ bones will take us. So when the dragons in your life and burn down your castle and all you’re left with is a paper bag, don’t judge it as good or bad but wear that paper bag with pride, follow the trail, and see how you can make the best of a burnt situation!