Ok, I admit it: I love getting fortune cookie fortunes and I always try to imagine how they fit into my life. How does this apply to me right now, or my future, as the case may be? I always ask myself. The most inspiring fortunes are taped to my laptop and I read them often, smiling at these little manifestations of my innermost thoughts as if they are from some wise, all-knowing source. Today I pasted “Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become” onto the ol’ lappy. And just now I sat down to a cup of tea with the fortune “Let things come to you” attached to the tea bag. Wait, WHAT?! “Let things come to me?” Let’s back up a minute. Is this one a keeper? What kind of things are we talking about here? Everything? Or just certain things? What does it all mean?

*Insert several minutes of contemplative observation here.*

I am reminded of Elizabeth Gilbert’s 20 minute speech on the creative daemons of ancient Rome, everyone’s elusive and ghostly genius that is partly responsible for creative brilliance and success. In this talk, she echos the sentiment of my yoga teacher, Graham Fowler, who often reminded everyone in my yoga teacher training class to “just show up”. But I think most decidedly the words of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois sum up this fortune: Practice and all is coming. Letting something happen means allowing it to happen, without forbidding or preventing it. There are so many ways that we prevent things from happening and the greatest of those is inaction. How are things to happen or come to us if we do nothing? My gut reaction to “letting things come to me” was disdain, but I realize that this good fortune is not suggesting sloth; it is insinuating responsibility. Once again the gentle, middle path appears, illuminating patience, determination, action, and receptivity. It’s a keeper.