It’s 2:00, and my thoughts are on dinner. Tonight: Chinese food – something with garlic… then, of course, my fortune cookie.
I’m a fan of fortune cookies, for I love the tactility of my future.
… the crackle of plastic wrap.
… the crumble of fried starch.
… the phhhht of paper with promising words.
I read.
I put two and two together to rationalize some meaning from a random sentence.
I forget the cookie. I even forget the paper in my hand. It’s the words of wisdom I remember.
Is this really about a fortune cookie?
No. It’s about wisdom and optimism.
Wisdom is insight through self-dialogue. When I’m reading my fortune cookie, essentially I’m talking to myself. I see what I want to see. I extrapolate.
To a degree, my fortune fills in the blank between where I am now and where I want to be. But what truly fills in the blank is my imagination.
If I can’t visualize the fortune I seek, I simply open another cookie. And I’ll keep opening cookies until my vision is complete.
What do I finally say in the end, even if it takes a dozen cookies???
“Obviously, it was meant to be.”
Be a fortune cookie teller. And create your future.
Carl is a former engineer who applies rational thought to the often subjective nature of traditional healing. He practices acupuncture in San Diego, CA.