For so many of us who are working hard to just stay afloat in our personal lives — between debt, family obligations, relationships, careers and more — it is awfully easy to forget that we are indeed living in some historically interesting times.
I recently got an interesting message in my fortune cookie after a plate of extra spicy Kung Pao chicken. The wise and crunchy confection communicated, “May you live in interesting times – Chinese Proverb”. This got me to thinking about the wisdom of this bit of ancient Chinese thinking.
For so many of us who are working hard to just stay afloat in our personal lives — between debt, family obligations, relationships, careers and more — it is awfully easy to forget that we are indeed living in some historically interesting times. Centuries of human history stretched out for countless generations of folks who lived lives veritably unchanged compared to their forebearers. But in the last 100 years, the pace of advancements have radically reorganized the nature of life from one generation to the next; sometimes with transcendental effects and othertimes with nightmarish consequences. Consider the advances in medicine and humanity’s delight at the doubling of average life expectancies. Yet we all face the terrifying realities of a world that grows more overpopulated amidst dwindling resources. Ponder the rise of global travel and information science; how it brings our world together in unprecendted ways. Yet we all grapple with the confrontations that come with increased interaction amongst tribes of humanity. We all grapple with the impact our growth and movement has upon the ecology we all must share.
So today, whether you’re consumed with studies, job hunting, mortgage payments, child rearing or any of the myriad concerns that keep you focused on the tasks at hand, take a pause for one moment to consider the unprecedented times we live in and some of the amazing things transpiring around our world today. We truly live in the most interesting of times!
7 Responses to “Fortune Cookie Wisdom”
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It seems as times become more difficult, we need to pay attention to those amazing events transpiring in our world today more so than ever. That is what keeps us level headed, thankful, and pushes us to strive for excellence.
However, as these advancements become more prolific, we need to focus more on finding that balance and facing the challenges that come along with technology. Are we to give up travel and international communication due to our societal differences? Are we able to check our obsession with handheld technology in order to benefit from its convenience? Can human beings respect our environment so that it remains for our grandchildren? It seems the underlying question to your request of pausing and rejoicing relies on first self-reflection and cohabitation.
The times we live in are unprecedented and full of possibilities. Let us hopefully respect others and seek that balance so that we can truly benefit from our world!
Very profound words Sherilyn. The optimist in my shouts, “yes!” in response to each of your rhetorical questions. But the realist in me tempers this faith in the ability of humanity to act beyond their own self-interests. This is exactly why I always try to call people’s attention to issues larger than themselves that are unfolding in their midsts.
Thanks for the reminder. We do sometimes forget to look at what we have and what we have accomplished. We need to keep a positive attitude and always shoot for the stars.
I’m glad they have this blog there are alot of intresting things on here. I found a few things to inspire and motivate me. I just started this program and am almost at the end of the 2nd six week course it’s a very overwheling course and I hope I can make it through it. it’s kinda freakin me out!
This has been a little overwhelming past 5 weeks. But it has also been very interesting. One thing I have been reminder is – our world and society has so much to offer and so much to learn. I’m 52 years old, with a BS in Accounting and had to urge to learn something new. I am so glad I choose this program and this school.
In my class – Medical Insurance and Billing, I learned the importance of the billing process. The whole medical office works its way around to make sure the encounter form has good information so the biller can accurately code and submit the claim clean the first time. The biller needs to be very detailed while reviewing over the information and the claim before its submitted and must have excellent knowledge in coding. Everyone in the office depends on the claims being processed and paid, with out this happening there would be no cashflow coming in for the office to operate on. To me, it’s a very important position to have and learning as much about it is my main goal.
Suzanne Trout
I think we all tend to get a little lost in our own little world’s now and then. I’m a believe that happiness comes in those 10mins spands of peace that we have here and there. And in those few minutes, we need to shelter ourselves and find sulace.
-Zoila
I have noticed as I was completing my medical coding and billing course, how quickly time passes by. I was truly to caught up in my own world of tasks that needed to be performed and what not, that I forgot to realize that everyone else in this world is facing time passing quickly too. For some patients this passing of time,( i.e. treatment) may be seen as a good thing,
but for others,it may seen as bad. I realize now that if I want to truly have the empathy and understanding our patients’ need; I have to remember that my life maybe the one I can control the most; but it is not the only one I can positively affect. If we all just do one positive thing for another person, I think the people of this world could grow to appreciate one another no matter our differences.