Few things are less dramatic than opening one’s Chinese fortune cookie and reading the inscription. Under the circumstances, a drum roll is entirely unnecessary. I do not believe that anyone, with the possible exception of Rodney Dangerfield, has ever cracked opened a fortune cookie that contained an ominous message. At the same time, fortune cookie messages can be either appropriate or entirely irrelevant. In our case, my wife’s message that evening was most appropriate: “You are especially beautiful this week”. It was an appropriate message since it was Valentine’s Day, the 47^th we have spent together. And it had the bonus of being true, though this particular week was by no means an exception.

My own “fortune” was less flattering and more philosophical: “To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.” This, of course, is comic advice. Nonetheless, it represents an attitude that seems to be gaining popularity these days when no one dares risk having his self-esteem bruised. Everyone is a winner, even those who finish last. By reversing the order between the target and the shot, everyone becomes either a Robin Hood or an Annie Oakley. And yet, no one has really earned this honorable appellation. If the target is an afterthought, the distinction between winner and loser is obliterated.

Something is preposterous, according to the word’s etymology, when what should be first is placed second, and what should be second is promoted to being first. It is a case of putting the cart before the horse. Thus, prae (before) is placed posterius (after). Getting things backwards is “preposterous” because it reverses the natural order of things in a way that is both impractical and ridiculous. It is like trying to put your socks on after you have donned your shoes.

The target must come first. The challenge is to come as close as possible to hitting the target. In this way, it is possible to improve one’s aim and gain a measure of justifiable satisfaction. If the target is secondary and one always hits it, improvement is not a possibility nor is a healthy self-esteem that is based on a real achievement. Targets are usually arbitrary. But they must be first and fixed in order to make the competition fair.

Whereas targets are external, goals are usually personal. One might want to graduate from college, get a good job, and own a home. These are, properly speaking, goals that are personally fulfilling. If one has no goals whatsoever, it is not likely that he will achieve very much. First comes the goal, and then the working toward the goal. The terms of this order are determined by reality and discovered by common sense.

But hitting targets and achieving goals do not constitute the ultimate purpose of life. There is something that transcends them, which is our destiny. A target is wholly external. A goal adds the quality of being personally fulfilling, though drawn to something external and less than ultimate. Destiny is what we all seek by virtue of our nature. It is being faithful to the core of our being and allowing it to unfold and reach its zenith point. Our destiny, in a word, is our fullness of life, our beatitude. In his encyclical, The Gospel of Life, Saint John Paul II makes the following comment: “Life is indelibly marked by a truth of its own. By accepting God’s gift, man is obliged to maintain life in this truth which is essential to it. To detach oneself from this truth is to condemn oneself to meaninglessness and unhappiness . . . . .” (48).

One may avoid certain targets and eschew particular goals. But one cannot willingly choose against the abundance of life that is his destiny. Targets and goals are, to a certain extent, optional. It is not possible, however, for a person to choose against life and against his own happiness. What is possible, nonetheless, is to allow targets and goals to get in the way of one’s destiny and therefore distract a person from the fidelity required to fulfill his destiny. Hitting the jackpot and winning gold are not enough to fill the human heart. They do not correspond to our destiny.

We do not need a Chinese fortune cookie to illuminate our life’s path. Our destiny is inscribed in our hearts and directs us toward life in abundance. It will not be fulfilled until it is fulfilled in the heart of God. Being in favor of life, which is to say, “pro-life,” therefore, is not really an option.

Dr. Donald DeMarco is a Senior Fellow of Human Life International. He is professor emeritus at St. Jerome’s University in Waterloo, Ontario, an adjunct professor at Holy Apostles College in Cromwell, CT, and a regular columnist for St. Austin Review. His latest works, How to Remain Sane in a World That is Going Mad and Poetry That Enters the Mind and Warms the Heart are available through Amazon.com.

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