The proverb goes like this. Two men, a wise man and a fool, were caught in the forest during a stormy night. When lightning struck, during that brief moment of illumination, the fool looks up at the sky and admires the lightning. But the wise man uses the illumination to keep an eye on the path he is on and where he is going.
In life, we regularly experience various storms. A job loss, a broken marriage, a failed business. Sometimes we see them coming, and sometimes they catch us off guard.
The proverb gives us some good advice for what happens during the storms. Problems and challenges are scary, but they also illuminate our path. They bring light and clarity to where we are going, and what is going wrong.
One of our challenges is to embrace failure and use it as a launching point for where we go next. When failure strikes, use the moment to seek clarity on where you are, what direction you are going, and where you need to be. As Master Yoda taught us in “The Last Jedi”, “The greatest teacher, failure is”.
If we treat the problems we encounter like the wise man treated the lightning, we will find ourselves better prepared for the terrain ahead.