[Guide to the Market Economy] We Need Optimism

“When it rains, the umbrella seller prospers; when the sun shines, the straw-sandal seller prospers”

…Rome ruled Europe thanks to its “open worldview”

There is a traditional folktale called “The Umbrella Seller and the Straw-Sandal Seller.” Long ago, there was a mother with two sons. One son sold umbrellas, and the other sold straw sandals. Day after day, the mother felt as though she were sitting on thorns. On bright sunny days, she worried because umbrellas would not sell; on rainy days, she worried because straw sandals would not sell.

“Oh dear, the weather is so nice today—my eldest won’t be able to sell any umbrellas!”

“Oh no, it’s raining, so my younger son won’t be able to sell his straw sandals. What shall I do?”

Whether the sun was shining on a clear day or rain was falling on a cloudy one, the mother sighed all the same. Naturally, she never had a smiling day, and deep wrinkles only grew across her face, always full of anxiety and worry.

Then one day, as usual, the mother was letting out deep sighs over her sons. Seeing this, a neighbor said to her,

“My goodness, ma’am, is something wrong? Why do you keep sighing like that?”

With a troubled expression, the mother replied,

“The weather is clear today, so my eldest won’t be able to sell a single umbrella. Just thinking about it makes my heart ache, and the sighs come out on their own.”

“Oh, is that so? Don’t worry. I heard it’s supposed to rain this afternoon.”

“What am I going to do? If it rains, my younger son won’t be able to sell his straw sandals…. Oh dear, I feel so sorry for him.”

The mother looked as though she were on the verge of bursting into tears. Feeling sorry for her, the neighbor said,

“You really do worry about everything. Try thinking about it differently. If it pours with rain, umbrellas will sell like hotcakes, and your eldest will be delighted. On the other hand, if the sun blazes, straw sandals will sell well, and your younger son will be thrilled. If you rejoice for your eldest on rainy days and for your younger son on sunny days, wouldn’t you be happy every single day?”

Only then did the mother clap her knee in realization.

“Ah, now that I hear it, that’s absolutely right!”

After that, just as the neighbor had suggested, the mother rejoiced for her eldest on rainy days and for her younger son on clear days.

“It’s been raining since morning, so my eldest’s umbrella business must be doing wonderfully. Rain, rain, come down even more!”

“The sunshine is really lovely today. My younger son’s straw sandals must be selling well. He must be so excited.”

In this way, because she changed her way of thinking, the mother was able to live happily and joyfully no matter whether it rained or the sun shone. Our lives are the same. As we live, there are sunny days and rainy days. We cannot always have only good things happen, but neither do only bad things happen all the time. That is why, when something bad happens, there is no need to rush into pessimism and despair. Like the mother in the story, even under the very same weather, depending on how we think, we can accept it either joyfully or painfully. What matters is one’s attitude of mind. Whether the very same event feels happy or unhappy ultimately depends on how one chooses to see it.

The mindset that overcomes adversity is grounded in optimistic thinking. In The Story of the Romans, Nanami Shiono asks how the Romans—who were inferior to the Greeks in intellect, to the Celts and Germans in physical strength, to the Etruscans in technical skill, and to the Carthaginians in economic power—were nevertheless able to build and govern an empire that lasted a thousand years. They possessed an open worldview that enabled them to fuse their own strengths with those of their neighbors.

Someday, far in the future, if someone asks, “How did a country called the Republic of Korea, with little land, no resources, and wedged among great powers, come to prosper?” we should make sure the day comes when we can answer with confidence: “Because they had an open attitude and an entrepreneurial spirit grounded in optimism.”

■ Please remember

In The Story of the Romans, Nanami Shiono asks how the Romans—who were inferior to the Greeks in intellect, to the Celts and Germans in physical strength, to the Etruscans in technical skill, and to the Carthaginians in economic power—were nevertheless able to build and govern an empire that lasted a thousand years. They possessed an open worldview that enabled them to fuse their own strengths with those of their neighbors.

Sung-no Choi, President, Center for Free Enterprise (CFE)

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Original title: [시장경제 길라잡이] 낙관론은 필요하다

Author: Sung-no Choi

Date: 2020-03-16

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=column&pn=9&idx=22480