Gift horses

I wonder where the expression "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth" comes from. I know what it means. Don't question a good thing, appreciate it, etc. But who started it, and really, why not?? If I got a gift, I see nothing wrong with looking it in the mouth. Okay if it had a mouth. And not every gift, only the ones I am skeptical about.

When G-d gives me 'gifts', sometimes I find myself saying, okay thanks, but what's the catch? If I accept this from you, what bad thing will happen to me instead?

There's a new movie that just came out. It's called, The box. It is about a young couple who have the chance of making a million dollars, and all they have to do is open the box. Simple. But the downside is (if you can call it that) that someone they don't know, somewhere in the world, will die.

Ya, I think I would look the horse in the mouth then, and I don't think I would accept it. But that is a question of morals, a discussion I'll leave for another time.

I was talking to a friend. I told her something that happened. She was skeptical about it, while I was happy, and accepting. It is a question of perspectives, and how you look at it. I saw it as a good thing, and she saw 'stay away. Beware. Caution.'

Which got me thinking. Is it genuinely a good thing, like I originally thought? Or am I so naive, that I need an outsider to point out to me that it is not indeed as good as I thought it to be?

I want G-d to hand me life on a silver platter. I want a big wrapped box with a bow on top, and a roast with all the trimmings.

But that ain't never gonna happen. Even I'm not too stupid to think that.

So at the very least, I want to be able to accept it as a gift, and not be constantly looking over my shoulder, waiting for the other foot to drop. Waiting for lightning to strike. Waiting for G-d to say, 'Haha, child, you thought I was gonna give you something good? Oh no, that was an illusion. I take it back."

So I say, look the gift horse in the mouth. If you like what you see, keep it. And if you don't, well what the heck, you are stuck with it, cuz I don't think G-d takes any refunds. And at the very least, you can use the horse as a rocking chair. Or something equally as usefull.

Lechaim! Here's to life, liberty, and the persuit of happiness. Friendship, clean horses mouths, and most importantly, clarity, to recognize a good thing when you see it.

*P.S. Just looked up gift horses. It has to do with the age of the teeth. Petty people, I should have known. A horse is a horse of course of course. Is it not?