Fortunes and Other Nonsense Stuff

Not long ago, I opened my fortune cookie at a restaurant and found a very negative 'fortune' inside.  This surprise me because they are ususally so non-descript or so positive that I disregard them anyway.  I left the little piece of paper on the table with the dirty napkins and walked out.

Here it is a couple of weeks later, and I'm still bothered by this. This tiny piece of paper had words with big, bad meaning..."You will be betrayed in 2017."  Why does it bother me so much that I remember it and even have funny feelings about it?

The restaurant is not my friend...they don't know me.  The writer of these little tidbits knows no one who ever reads them.  The printing press and auto-stuffing equipment have no power over human behaviors.  It's nothing but nonsense...but thoughtless nonsense.

Maybe I've been betrayed before and I don't like it.  Maybe I'm impressionable and can't shake things that are negative.  Maybe I believe in this stuff (I don't).  Maybe someone I love is angry at me.  Maybe...maybe...maybe...maybe.  Maybe this cookie might have gotten into the hands of someone one who was being treated for a mental disorder, or depression, or recovering from a serous betrayal.

For one thing, this is not the way for a restaurant to expect me to return.  And it's just not a worthwhile promotion of human behavior to spread around negative 'fortunes.'  I would actually assume that every fortune cookie has something wonderful inside!

This is a good lesson in the power of words.  Our words in real life to family, friends, acquaintances, even our enemies, are very powerful.  We encourage or we slay.  I know what side I want to be on.  

Blessings to you and all whom you love.  May the joy of well-seasoned, positive words be yours today!