QMusings

A short while ago I wondered if living life by the fortunes found in fortune cookies would be a Good Life. I wrote that every so often I would write about a fortune and discuss it. dietrologia commented that the fortune he received that day was:

“We can learn from everyone, especially from our enemies.”

dietrologia’s fortune sounds like a great place to start.

dietrologia wondered, “Is this learning in general knowledge or do we gain more in the way of self-knowledge?”

By their very nature, fortunes must be imprecise and broad, and therefore open to interpretation. That is, “One size fits all.”

Keeping that in mind, I would say that the knowledge that can be gained from everyone would be of all types:

General: The sciences - Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, Botany …
Practical: How To’s - Tie your shoes, Install a dimmer switch, Use Chopsticks
Self: Oh. So THAT’S why I look for love in all the wrong places. Shoot.
Obscure: Dietrologia - the science of what lies behind; Slime molds are half fungus and half bacteria.

Notice the wording: We CAN learn from everyone, not WILL.

This implies choice. This implies that we must decide to learn.

What good will be added to our lives if we decide that everyone has something to teach us? Remember, it is our choice, our decision.

We will begin to pay attention to what people have to say. This will make us better listeners. As we pay more attention to the words, we will also begin to observe their actions.

If we believe that everyone has something to teach us, we will have to be OPEN to whatever lessons they may give us. Being open would require withholding judgment. As soon as we begin to judge, we would lessen our ability to listen and therefore learn.

Would we learn especially more from our enemy?

If we define an enemy as someone who does not like us or wishes us ill, they are viewing us with a desire to harm us in some way. In order to harm us, they would be looking for weaknesses. If we observe the manner in which they attack us, we would gain an insight into what our weaknesses, or perceived weaknesses, are.

The fact that we have an enemy could give us self-knowledge; that is, is there something in us that has created an enemy?

Do I think today’s fortune will lead a to a good life?

Findings:

- We first decide that we can learn from everyone.
- We then become better listeners in order to hear the lesson.
- We let go of judgment in order to be open to all possible lessons.
- We begin to pay attention because lessons are not always told, sometimes they are observed. I am sure “Actions speak louder than words.” is in a fortune cookie somewhere.

Conclusion:

Once you’re open to the lessons that everyone can teach you, you will have more information. With more information, you will have more choices. With more choices, you may find better solutions to a problem or see an opportunity that may improve your life.

Do I think that I will learn even more from an enemy?

Findings:

- Enemies attack perceived weaknesses. We observe what they are focusing on and strengthen them.
- Why are they our enemy? What is it about their lives and who we are makes them want to injure us?
- Is there something in us that creates enemies?

Conclusion:

Enemies hold a different mirror up to us. If we look into their mirror, we can see aspects of ourselves that we may not have known or have refused to acknowledge. With this knowledge we can change. Making this change would give us greater protection from enemies or perhaps change an enemy into a friend. This type of change can be very profound. We would have learned an especially valuable lesson.

What will happen if we follow today’s fortune?

We will become:

1) Better listeners.
2) More observant.
2) Less judgmental.
3) Open to more ideas.

We will have:

1) More choices
2) More information
3) Fewer weaknesses

Good Life Rating: TRUE

With respect to dietrologia’s favorite fortune: “You will soon blame something on the dog.”

Good Life Rating: It Depends. Depends on the blame, depends on the dog. I suspect this will rate as FALSE.

Question for readers: I’d love to hear what lessons you have learned from people. Have you ever learned something from someone you least expected to?

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