Today for Love Thursday, I wish to share with you the best fortune cookie fortune I ever got. Behold:
In case you can't read it, the fortune says, "Let hatred turn into friendship because of your existence."
I was given the cookie containing this fortune at China Buffet in Lowell. I can't remember exactly which month it was. Perhaps it was May, but maybe it was June. My true love and I had gone to see the latest Jackie Chan movie at the Showcase Theater in Lowell, because it has stadium seating and some movies are just way more fun to see that way. Lord of the Rings movies, for example. Harry Potter. Blade. You get the idea. When we visit this theater, we always try to catch the first screening of the day in order to spend the least money and encounter the fewest crowds. Afterward we usually want lunch, and this time it was only natural that we should want some permutation of Chinese food.
As I have mentioned recently, I have some residual reading issues even now, eight months after having my big fat brain tumor removed. Back then, these issue were more numerous and more pronounced. I read this fortune cookie fortune and did not understand it. It was complete gibberish to me. I even remember laughing at it, assuming the problem wasn't in my head but in a translation error.
My true love frowned. "That's actually really good," he said. I had no idea what he was talking about, but I tucked the fortune into my wallet anyway, and what do you know? It never did make its way into the recycling box.
In fact one day, I don't know how long after that, I read it again and understood it perfectly. And that's when I decided to tape it to my desk.
I've kept it because I love the sentiment, of course, but I have also kept it because it taught me something. Naturally, I also very much enjoyed that particular movie date with my true love, and don't mind having a souvenir.
I've photographed it for you here with my tiny cast metal sculpture of Ganesh, my favorite Hindu deity, and a nearly empty bottle of lens cleaner. My understanding of Ganesh is that he is the god of problem solving. As I recall, he has an elephant's head because his father accidentally cut off his original head.
Happy Love Thursday, everyone. I hope you can see how this all relates to love, but if not, perhaps look again another day and maybe it will all come clear.
The title of this post derives tortuously from Hamlet, by William Shakespear, Act III, Scene III:
A man that fortune’s buffets and rewards
Hast ta’en with equal thanks...
I've tried for Fortune's buffets, but all I ever seem to get is Fortune's steam table.
The best cookie fortune I ever got reads as follows:
"Very soon, and in pleasant company."
Posted by: Ron Sullivan | November 14, 2008 at 02:00 AM
I have a fortune that reads, "You have many hidden talents" which I have had hanging around in my purse for years. I can't actually remember the circumstances of when and where I got it, but it must have been during a pretty low patch where I felt very sorry for myself and it seemed like the first compliment I'd had in ages, even though it was completely random. Which is very very silly. But I do still keep it.
I can't imagine you hating anybody.
Posted by: The Goldfish | November 14, 2008 at 11:53 AM
Ron: I love that fortune. And steam tables are every bit as nice as buffets, sometimes nicer. :)
Goldfish: I am so glad the universe gave you a pat on the head when you needed it. Yes, it's random, but a broken clock is still right twice a day. And a strength-giving talisman is still a strength-giving talisman, whether you believe it was left just for you or whether you believe it was just out there for anyone to find. A lot of the best stuff is out there for anyone to find.
I've eaten probably several tons of Chinese food in my life, and received hundreds of fortune cookie fortunes. I've kept seven of them. I never expect to want to keep any of them. So there you go.
And just so you know, there are definitely some people I hate. I hate people who send other people to die, especially on rafts of lies. I really do. I really, really hate them. And then I'm mad at them for being so hate-worthy. And then I'm mad at myself for actually allowing myself to hate them anyway.
Still, I see this fortune, or this instruction, on a more macro level. I don't think it refers to my hatred of anything specifically; I think it means hatred generally, and that somehow it is within the power of each of us to push past hatred as a dynamic to create a more loving world, if only we will choose to try.
Posted by: Sara | November 14, 2008 at 02:14 PM
I have a fortune I saved that reads, "You may be hungry soon: order a takeout now." I keep meaning to post it - maybe on a slow NaBloPoMo day.
Posted by: leslee | November 15, 2008 at 08:07 AM
Oh, Leslee, that is awesome! (And undeniably true!)
Posted by: Sara | November 15, 2008 at 03:43 PM
I have this very same fortune taped to the top of my computer monitor. On a whim I decided to google it and perhaps find the author... Instead, I found this post.
I veiw this like a ripple in a pond... even with a small life like mine I can, with a giving harmonious attitude, affect the lives of those that I touch in such a way they may better touch others.
By the way, you and I have the same lucky numbers!! haha
Posted by: Sharlene | January 19, 2009 at 01:27 PM