Julie A. Ferraro | FāVS News Columnist
A good meal of sweet and sour chicken is always a treat for me. Adding a bowl of egg drop soup makes it even better. To top it off: a fortune cookie.
I love the taste of fortune cookies — that little bit of sweetness. Even when I buy them by the bag from a local Asian market and eat them without the meal itself.
Long ago, I learned that fortune cookies aren’t an authentic part of an Asian meal, and the little slips of paper tucked inside the uniquely folded disks of dough are mass produced. That doesn’t impact my enjoyment.
Once in a while, though, I admit I find some of the “fortunes” quite profound. They become a source of meditation for me, a form of Lectio Divina — a Benedictine practice of sacred reading — that guides me through the day.
A fortune cookie’s unexpected message
For instance, the first fortune cookie from a bag I bought recently read, “Your resilience will shine in the face of unexpected obstacles.”
Sitting silently with that statement for a few minutes, I realized that humanity as a whole needs resilience right now, given the turmoil in the world. So many people face unexpected obstacles in daily life: loss of a job, death of a loved one, lack of food, housing — and the list could go on. There is so much uncertainty that causes stress and worry, and it seems like we can’t escape, can’t find those moments of peace to refresh the soul, to pray, to relax, without being bombarded by external pressures.
What is resilience? The Oxford Dictionary defines the word as “the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.”
That reminds me of “Tubthumping,” the popular song from 1997 by a band called Chumbawumba (though I’ve never understood the reasons for the band’s name nor this title).
The chorus proclaims, “I get knocked down, but I get up again. You’re never gonna keep me down.” It’s an anthem we all need to be singing in the face of oppression, injustice, wars and rampant crime.
Like rocks in a stream
One way to imagine resilience is to visualize a stream flowing down a hill. Trees planted near the stream shed their leaves during autumn, and the leaves are washed toward the lake or river fed by the stream’s rapid current. Those are the people who don’t deal well with their situations, just “going with the flow.”
The rocks on the stream bed, however, don’t move. They demonstrate resilience as water pours over them, even helping to purify the water as it cascades toward its destination. The surface of the rocks may be polished by the water, or worn down, but that takes a very, very long time, while the rocks remain firmly in place.
The stream might also change how it flows, due to beavers building a dam, or a tree falling across the bed in a storm. Yet, the rocks cling to the hillside, wet or dry.
Resilience is a fruit of faith, after all. Grounded in what we believe about the need to respect and love others, seeing the divine spark within them, we act on our faith as we go about our daily routine. We cultivate peace in the workplace, the home, the community, despite the chaos that disrupts our efforts.
Embracing change, holding ground
Another aspect of resilience is the awareness that change is a constant in life. Politicians come and go, subject to elections. Weather is variable — as the saying goes, “If you don’t like it, wait 20 minutes.” Technology will continue striving to best human ingenuity.
If we are resilient, though — as that fortune cookie read — we retain the hope that we will “shine in the face of unexpected obstacles.”
The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News. FāVS News values diverse perspectives and thoughtful analysis on matters of faith and spirituality.
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