What is EQ?

Story #1: Two people are wandering, lost in the desert. They are dying from hunger and thirst. Finally, they come to a high wall. On the other side they can hear the sound of a waterfall and birds singing. Above, they can see the branches of a lush tree extending over the top of the wall. Its fruit looks delicious.

One of them manages to climb over the wall and disappears down the other side. The other, instead, returns to the desert to help other lost travellers find their way to the oasis.

Story #2: There was an old man who had farmed his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. On hearing the news, his neighbours came to commiserate with him. “What bad luck”, they said.

“Maybe”, the farmer replied.

The next morning, the horse returned, and along with it were three other wild horses. “How wonderful!”, the neighbours cried.

“Maybe”, replied the old man.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses. He was thrown off, and broke his leg. The neighbours again said how unfortunate he was.

“Maybe”, answered the farmer.

The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. “How lucky you are that they spared your son!”, the neighbours said.

“Maybe”, said the farmer.

Or, as William Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet:

There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.

Reading this stories, what comes to your mind when you think of EQ?