Beating Ana by Shannon Cutts

Fortune cookie addict

I am a fortune cookie addict. Or, more accurately, I am a fortune-addict. I like the cookie part, don't get me wrong. It's just not the main event. Just imagining the crackle of that cheap little plastic wrapper, the breaking open of twin vanilla halves (a vegetarian's wishbone experience) to find out my DESTINY .... what's not to love?

A few years ago a group of friends and I went to an asian diner in Dallas. They had BUCKETS of fortune cookies, free for the taking. I remember walking out of there, pockets and purse and to-go baggie stuffed with fortune cookies. "Free" or not, I couldn't shake off the mild guilt of the repeat offender .... there I was, fine upstanding citizen aka the world's first fortune-cookie smuggler.

But all for a good cause, because I still have those fortunes, tucked away in the strangest little corners of my life. It is not uncommon for me to encounter them underneath a house plant, inside my gig bags, coffee-stained on my kitchen windowsill, tucked into the edges of my suitcases (I am quite certain fortunes can ward off lost luggage). The way I see it, the moment I find them again it is like getting a whole new fortune!

The fortune over my desk reads "when in doubt, follow your heart".

The one I got this morning (breakfast dessert) says "you are the flexible person in your present situation."

Last week's chinese takeout yielded "happiness surrounds your events this week".

And remnants from that long-ago diner include some of my all-time favorites...

"It is much wiser to take advice than to give it."

"Do not give up, the beginning is always the hardest."

What I think is really going on is that, far from delivering to me my destiny, the gift each little fortune so generously offers is GRATITUDE.

It jogs my rut-happy brain out of contemplating all that I don't have (yet or ever), all that I am not now (were before, will ever be), all that seems to be coming someone else's way right in front of my very (disbelieving, resentful) eyes .... and reminds me of what I do have now, what I am now, who I am now, and all that I truly do have right now to be proud of and thankful for.

Or, as the fortune I just found inside my purse proclaims:

"Be yourself. No one is more qualified!"

I couldn't have said it any better myself.

My life as a tree

I live in Houston, TX, which means that most of each year, I am cowering indoors with either the a/c or the heat blasting. There are only a few weeks each spring and fall that remind me of why Houston remains my residence of choice ... and we are in one of them right now.

This also means that, during those weeks, it is very hard to concentrate on work when the sunshine and the gentle breezes are calling me outside. Take today for instance. Productivity score: 0% (aside from this blog post, that is), fresh air and sunshine shore: 100%.

As I walked at a local park this morning, I found myself once more engaged in one of my favorite contemplations ... imagining what my life would be like if I were a tree.

Jenni Schaefer Teleconference Podcast Now Posted!

Listen now to Jenni Schaefer speak about "Goodbye Ed, Hello Me" from MentorCONNECT's October 7th teleconference series.

And also be sure to RSVP to mc@key-to-life.com for next month's great teleconference on November 4th: "Surviving - and Thriving - During the Holidays" with registered dietician Jessica Setnick, MS, RD/LD, CSSD.