My family and I recognized and celebrated Lunar New Year this past weekend. As with many Chinese traditions and festive occasions, it meant spending time with family and food!
For decades I’ve merrily greeted others with the traditional message “Gung Hei Fat Choi” (
, in Pinyin gong xi fa cai). I always thought it was about prosperity – in a broad sense. However, I was only recently reminded that it literally means, “Congratulations, Get Rich” – in the financial sense. I think of prosperity not only to mean financial wealth, but also relationships, community, and compassion. Impact investing concerns itself not only about generating financial returns, but also positive social and environmental returns. Or as I like to put it, impact investing is about taking care of the village.
I did some searching and I wonder whether a more appropriate phrase to better reflect a more encompassing meaning of prosperity would be “Gung Hei Ging Hei” (
, in Pinyin gong xi jing qi). It also has a nice alliteration to it.
As the Year of the Rooster begins, we wish you, your family, your neighbours, and your community, a year of prosperity. As you face the year ahead with mindsets of abundance, curiosity, and relationship, I hope you’re able to access to the essential resources that you need to survive, thrive, and be happy.
