Yesterday my brother treated for Chinese Food (it was a holiday here in the U.S. + he is sick with a sore throat & Other Miladies, hence the wonton soup was particularly appreciated & Papa gets Really Happy about Shrimp Lo Mein noodles!!)  We also enjoy opening our fortune cookies, but i must say, mine was one of the most contemplative – ever! i kept thinking about it. So, today  here’s some fortune cookie wisdom for our minds to munch on …

“Don’t find fault, find a remedy.” 

We can take this on so many levels – for work, or with our families, or in relationships… we’re always nitpicking each other, or (if you’re too nice to nitpick out loud) sometimes our internal dialogues make mincemeat of Others We Are Aggravated with (Frustrated, Annoyed, ANGRY …) which is almost just-as-bad (‘judge not that ye be not judged’ & all that.)

Sometimes the remedy must be to look at ourselves – 1st – & then to look at others from a grace-filled-loving perspective (& maybe if we stopped focusing so much on the negative, we might actually see something positive? or the possibility of s.th. positive? Especially if we actually start thinking out of the box we’ve placed ourselves & others in…)

Then,there’s the work/ organizational application…  i remember in Tanzania, we used Appreciative Inquiry in our projects & as an organizational tool.  i, however, as a juggernaut tended to focus on WHAT NEEDED CHANGING, like when Other Divisions would really screw up  make mistakes with Big Proposals, i called our National Director, YAK YAK YAKKKKKETY YAK YAK screeching about The Problems.  He, however, as a walking AI practitioner would say, “yes Virginia, but what can we learn from these mistakes so we will get it right the next time?”   (& just for the record, we did get it right & more right & even incredibly right as Time Went On, by the Grace of God & lots of hard work! : )

One Saturday when transiting from Kagera through the rather HOT & dingy Mwanza airport to Dar, i was stuck from 7:30a.m. until 5:30 p.m. with a dead-battery laptop & Not Much Else. i called George To Complain, but he said, “Virginia, aren’t you glad the plane had operational challenges on the ground & not in the sky?”

hmmnn. Eventually (& also after George sent me to Ethiopia to ‘be certified’ in AI!) i did ‘get it’ & so grew my professional & personal toolkits For The Better … (hopefully! : )

A good thing to think about? applying this to how we ‘fault’ ourselves without letting the love of God in to remedy our hearts & minds & spirits with Healing Love…

Well, that’s enough fortune cookie wisdom for one day – (gotta go dash & reheat those noodles! + the Big Pot of Soup made for sickie brother..  : )

grace, peace & Fortune Cookies (!)

Virginia : )

p.s.  If you’re interested,   click  this link to learn more about Appreciative Inquiry…