Finding Fortune

It is 7:54pm now and I just couldn’t help not go to my table to type it down. We are preparing dinner. Music is high up in the air. Maybe neighbors hear it too—and they curse us for the disturbance. But we are gearing into finding a fortune beyond the heart—in the work.

“Honey…” comes the voice. My curry is getting over-cooked. I go in and make sure that it is cooked well. I turn off the gas and come back to my table. But before I turn, I give him a kiss. And before I can turn back, the phone rings. It is my brother from Japan. They are all fine there. They want to know how Amku is doing. I tell him that she is much better now; that her pus has almost stopped. If the same sickness afflicted someone else, I’m sure he/she would have taken it harder. I would have—if it was me. But my mother is so patient. So strong. She can go on—with a hope that never dies. Maybe hope is bad from Buddhist point of view—but to live, it is very important. And I’m glad my mother sees life with so much strength.

I’m not talking about finding fortune in the west. Not about finding fortune in some scientific discovery. We live everyday—everyday with small seconds and minutes—with small smiles and laughter. But we haven’t much to talk about what big work we did and what big success awaits us.

But everyday, we see the sun shine. We meet people, see the world and we live. And living everyday very simply with joy in small things builds fortune.