14 CHOICES | 2017 AUTUMN ISSUE
LIFE LESSONS SERVED AFTER THE
KUNG PAO CHICKEN BY SHERYL GREEN
I
rarely put much stock in the wisdom of fortune cookies... okay that’s not entirely true. Fortune cookies know everything! I’m positive that there are 5 ancient, wise Chinese men sitting at the edge of a rice field scribbling nuggets of brilliance onto ancient scrolls. Anyway, I recently received a fortune cookie with the following message, and it got me thinking about life, being prosperous, and about ordering a bowl of pineapple.
“In finding happiness for others, you’ll likely find it for yourself.” You already know that prosperity doesn’t have to mean financial wealth. You can be prosperous in your family, your friends, and with a couch full of rescued puppies, it just depends on what makes you smile. It sounds to me like prosperity is just another word for happiness. So the question stops being “how do
I become prosperous” and becomes “how can I be happier”, and that’s where the wisdom of the cookie comes in. If you want to be happier, do something nice for someone else. As a little child, my friend would complain to her mom that she was sad- and she always got the same response. “Go do something nice for someone else.” Whether you write a thank you letter to a friend, pay the bill for the person behind you in line at the coffee shop, or help a little, old lady across the street (just make sure she