A Battle of David vs Goliath – Guess Who Triumphed?

Remember last week I told you I faced a bit of a David and Goliath moment? Well, I thought you might like to know who triumphed… yes, it was Goliath.

Well, even as I write this, I’m not sure about that.

So, to recap: after sharing the excitement of having my proposal accepted on a shop in town, I soon came back down to earth when I received the Head of Terms. These reflected nothing that I had put in my proposal. I spoke to the estate agent to ask him why.

“Oh, they don’t accept your terms,” he said, breezily weeks later.

“Well, then they don’t accept … my offer?” I suggested.

Urgh, more days of toing and froing continued which felt to me like a huge waste of my time and energy, before I understood from the estate agent that no, big fish landlord was not going to budge. No, big fish landlord was not going to grant me the same terms he had granted his previous tenant. No, big fish landlord was happy for me to walk away than do any kind of negotiating.

And suddenly it all felt a bit… well, fishy.

And so I did walk away, wondering what the point of that little venture had been. Fate, I guess. Because the day after I had my offer accepted on that place in town, the most perfect little shop came up more locally to me. Yet my head had been turned by the glitzy prospect of being in town and now it seemed I stood to lose both places. I quickly called the landlord of the other place, and reader, I can’t tell you how much friendlier that experience was than dealing with a big fish landlord and its letting agent. It was just more… human. Much less… fishy.

And so, I went to see this place, and I threw my name into the hat. And now it is down to two tenants, me and one other, and we shall see who will prevail, and what fate has in store for me.

Am I tempting fate by sharing this latest news with you again? Maybe? No? I don’t know. But I am a firm believer in the fact that if something is right, it will stick. Did that other shop drift away for a reason? I believe so. Did it drift away at the exact time so I still had the chance of this local one? Quite possibly. Or maybe not. Maybe this one will drift away too.

Are you familiar with the Chinese parable of the Old Man and the Horse? It is one that I turn to when life feels a little overwhelming, and I’ve shared it before on my old substack, but it’s always worth revisiting:

An old man lived with his son and his horse. She was a beautiful, white mare, one he could sell for a fortune, and so his neighbours never understood why he kept her.

One night, there was a storm, and the horse bolted from the stable. The next day, his neighbours came to him saying how sorry they were for him, what a disaster it was. ‘Quit with your catastrophising,’ he told them. ‘It is true that my horse has disappeared from the stable and right now, that is all we know, the rest is pure judgment. Whether this is a good or a bad thing, we shall see.’

A week past, and one morning the old man awoke to find his beloved mare had returned. Not only that but she had brought with her a whole herd of wild horses. His neighbours returned, lavishing congratulations on him, telling him that now he would be rich beyond his wildest dreams. ‘Quit with your good wishes,’ said the old man. ‘It is true that my horse has returned with others, but this is all we know for now, the rest is pure judgment. Whether this is a good or a bad thing, we shall see.’

The next day his son went out to train the horses, but he suffered a terrible accident and was flung from one of them breaking both of his legs. The neighbours quickly came to console the old man, telling him what bad luck had befallen him. ‘Have you learnt nothing yet?’ the old man told them. ‘It is true that my son has broken his legs, but that’s all we know for sure, it is just a fragment of the story in its entirety, anything else is pure judgment. Whether this is a curse or a blessing, we shall see.’

A week later, a war broke out in their country, and all the fit, young men were called to fight and certain death. Everyone except the old man’s son, who was incapable of serving his country. The old man’s neighbours sent off their sons to war, and then gathered at the old man’s house, telling him how lucky he was that his son would live and theirs would surely die. Again, the old man stopped them: ‘How do you know that this is good fortune?’ he said. ‘It is true that my son cannot go to war, but that is all we know right now, the rest is pure judgment. Whether this is good or bad, we shall see.’

Two weeks went by and the country won the war, all the villagers’ sons returned and not only that but the Emperor rewarded the soldiers who had fought with enough gold to live comfortably for the rest of their lives… well, I won’t repeat myself, but you can imagine what the old man said when his neighbours turned up at his house again. 

There are many versions of this story, and some go on much longer, but the point of it is that whatever we see today, good or bad, is only that, one slice of the total story, just a fragment, whether it will be a blessing or a curse for us in the long run, we’ve yet to know. 

So, let’s see what happens with this new place. How do I know that losing that last place was not good for me?

Maybe it was, maybe it lead me to this new one?

I’ll keep you updated…

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