The little red panda runs to his tortoise mentor: “Master! Master! I have very bad news!”
Calm as ever, Oogway answers: “Ahh, Shifu. There is just news! There is no good or bad.”
After Shifu relays his message — a dangerous leopard warrior has escaped from his high-security prison — the Master concedes: “That is bad news…if you do not believe that the Dragon Warrior can stop him.”
To everyone but the Master, the situation seems hopeless. The enemy has great power. The Dragon Warrior isn’t a warrior at all — just a chubby panda who makes noodles for a living (and eats twice as much as he sells).
But Master Oogway remains unfazed, for he already knows what viewers of Kung Fu Panda are yet to learn: Everything is relative. There is no yin without its yang, and the end result is always balance.
Bad news are just bad if you believe nothing good can ever come from them — and today, like every day, it is a little too soon to tell. Trust the scale to even out. Have faith, and eventually, the Dragon Warrior will come. Sooner or later, the dark will find its light.
I know it’s not easy. On some days, the current of judgement will be too strong. But even when it carries you away, you can always get out of the water. Climb back ashore, and remember: There is just news. There is no good or bad.
And when you’re sitting on dry land again, no matter how wet you might be, you may even recall Master Oogway’s last words: “You must believe.”
