Think it Through

I hardly ever hear someone say,  ‘that’s the way the cookie crumbles” anymore. It’s an older, simplistic saying that was often told to me as a child. I took it to mean – “Accept it, that’s the way things are.” My adult self sees it as a fatalistic approach, as “That’s life, things go wrong and fall apart regardless of what recipe you follow.” No sense crying over spilled milk, I suppose.

I don’t know – I guess I reject the notion that we have no say in how things turn out.

Cause and effect, action and reaction, choices and consequences, push and pull, ebb and flow, wax and wane. It’s all there; we just need to recognize the pattern.

Think-it-Through was the name of a learning activity/game my kids had when they were young. The game was played using a small, reversible case of numbered tiles that represented answers to questions concerning culture, art, social studies, and nature. If all the questions were answered correctly, a matching pattern was revealed on the reverse side of the tiles.  If the tiles didn’t match the case had to be returned to its original position, and the incorrect problems had to be corrected.  Unlike many things in life, it gave you another chance to get the right pattern.

I was in a Chinese restaurant last week with my friend Pat. He quickly found what he wanted to order, whereas I struggled. There were so many choices, and they were all numbered. If you ordered #11 you would get the chicken but not the egg rolls (which were included on #17 – but that meant you would have to get the pork). After a while I selected #6 (which came with the egg roll) but I asked for the white rice instead of the fried. I suspected it was included in some other number but I didn’t want to test the patience of Pat or the server, plus I was getting confused with all the choices.

I recognized that I couldn’t have it all and that by choosing some things I was eliminating others. There are patterns and paths to a content, fulfilled life, and we ignore them at our own peril. If we want fame and fortune, we may have to give up time with friends and family. If we want a lot of possessions, we may be also getting a load of debt while giving up financial security. Practice must be selected to get perfection, and no matter how much money you have, you cannot buy happiness. It’s not on the menu.

Please keep in mind that I do not pretend to have the answers, but it seems to me that the choices are obvious and we need only decide what kind of life we want and make our selections accordingly. Think it through. 

At the end of our meal the server brought the bill and two fortune cookies. I selected one, but was unsatisfied with my fortune. It merely stated that my lucky number was three. Pat suggested that I try the other one. The second one said I should try something new this week – “I can do that,” I thought. I wish life were as easy as crumbling another cookie to choose another fortune.