Guest Post by Dennis Ernst
It was a busy time, and everything in my life seemed to want more attention: Work, relationships, family, health, all could use more time. It’s hard to keep everything in perspective when you’re feeling stretched.
It had been a busy day, and by 1:30 pm, I still hadn’t had a break or lunch. I could see my energy dropping and knew I needed a break, some food, and a few minutes of quiet so I could re-center. Three or four blocks from where I worked was a Chinese restaurant that was usually pretty quiet after the lunch hour rush, and the food, a short walk and a little time to clear my mind, all sounded good.
I was right about it being quiet, as the last lunch customers were just leaving as I arrived. After ordering, I spent a few minutes reflecting on the day. There had been several people I had worked with that morning who had pushed my calm, collected attitude pretty hard. It was challenging not to lose patience with them and try to keep things on track and moving ahead. Why did I need these people in my life?
The food came, and the waitress, who was the owner’s wife, wanted to chat for a bit. Before I knew it, the meal was over, and my ticket arrived with the usual fortune cookie.
Before opening the cookie, I thought I could really use some insight that would put things in perspective. Without any more thought, I opened the cookie and found this fortune: “If you can’t see God in all, you can’t see God at all”.
I had never gotten a fortune quite like that before, but the message was clear. I kept the fortune on my desk in my office, to remind me what was really important.
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Dennis Ernst is a retired Professional Land Surveyor who now devotes his time to sharing the natural beauty he finds on his many treks through photography, blogs, and poetry. Please visit his website, Dennis Ernst Photography, for a glimpse into his fascinating world.
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