Feng Shui This | Quick to Anger?

Do you ever get angry when things don't go your way?  It seems to be human nature, and real estate dealings can bring out the worst in folks.   Some of us have control issues and this can cause problems.

The origins of Feng Shui are shrouded in mystery, but I wonder if control was the first reason Feng Shui was developed.

When we start controlling others though, we have to be careful, lest it backfire.

There is a story that illustrates this:

Long ago there was a Feng Shui master who was traveling home from working in a far-away country.  He was tired and thirsty when he came upon a woman working in the field.  His appearance told her he had been traveling a long way, so she ran to get him a drink.  As she approached him with the cup she took note of how tired and thirsty he was, then stopped and picked up a handful of straw.  She sprinkled it on the surface of the water that she was carrying to him and handed him the water to drink.  

He was angry with this.  Every time he took a sip, he had to blow the straw away. By the time he finished the cup of water he had decided how to get even.  

He told her she would prosper if she moved her home to another spot, knowing the other site was even more poor and unlucky than where she was.

A few years later he came back and went directly to the site.  He expected to see poverty, misery and even death, but was amazed at what he found.  The house was beautiful, the family had fine livestock and servants working in the fields, and the woman joyously met him on the path, smiling and inviting him to dine with her.

After a bit, he told her why he was so confused.  He had given her bad advice and she had prospered anyway.

"Why would you do that?" she asked.  "I gave you water.  I was polite.  Didn't you leave here refreshed?"

Remember the straw you tossed on my cup of water?" he said.  "I was angered by that and wanted to get even."  

The woman smiled wisely and said, "See that horse in the field?  If I take him out and plow all day without giving him water, then bring him back and give him all he wants, he will founder and may die.  Men are not so different. When you came here, you had gone a long time without water on a very hot day.  You were terribly thirsty and would have drank the whole cup at once, making yourself sick.  By tossing the straw on the surface of the water, you had to drink your water slowly.  I did this to protect you."  

The Feng Shui master realized at once that the woman had been rewarded for her good deeds, and his spiteful behavior did not hurt her as it was intended to do.

We don't hear what happened to the Feng Shui master after that, but I would suspect that he repented of his bad behavior and became a better person, praying this attack on a good woman wouldn't backfire on him.

May we all strive to do what's right, no matter the circumstances.  

And, for all of you who have heard the story a bit differently, I will borrow a quote from my friend, Raymon Grace: 

"If I'm telling it wrong, don't correct me.  I like the way I tell it."