Seeing as this journey begins today, some quick nutritional Information about Fortune Cookies before we get started:
|
Amount Per 1 oz (28.4 g) |
| Calories 107 |
| % Daily Value* | |
| Total Fat 0.8 g | 1% |
| Saturated fat 0.2 g | 1% |
| Polyunsaturated fat 0.1 g | |
| Monounsaturated fat 0.4 g | |
| Cholesterol 1 mg | 0% |
| Sodium 9 mg | 0% |
| Potassium 12 mg | 0% |
| Total Carbohydrate 24 g | 8% |
| Dietary fiber 0.5 g | 2% |
| Sugar 13 g | |
| Protein 1.2 g | 2% |
| Vitamin A | 0% | Vitamin C | 0% |
| Calcium | 0% | Iron (Strong!) | 2% |
| Vitamin D | 0% | Vitamin B-6 | 0% |
| Vitamin B-12 | 0% | Magnesium | 0% |
Today on a long arduous CTA trip home I finally decided to make good on a promise to a friend. That promise was to do something that involved longevity and sharing. Ironic that on the first day of doing this duty to friendship I get the above fortune. I have already been promised a reward for doing so.
Over the next year I am going to consume and respond to 365 consecutive fortune cookies. The normal me would sprint into this thing and write a long drawn out first post and be done for the next two years until I remembered my password for WordPress but another year has made me wiser and hopefully more apt to completing a project.
This wont be a movie be starring that dude with the goatee or have cool graphics about how many times these cookies flew across the globe. It’s going to be about the actual fortune and what it means in the context of my day? Why? Because I am selfish and this is therapeutic for me.
I am hoping to capture here life’s daily adventures through the lens of the omnipotent Fortune Teller as seen in the timeless classic The Last Dragon (if you have not seen this movie excuse yourself from work and watch here):
Today’s fortune: “You will be rewarded for your kindness to others.”
First thoughts were that my kindness is its own reward for me. I got on my mental high horse (which is more of a pony for me) and thought doing something kind is a reward in and of itself and I don’t want to be rewarded. If you move to take action on something with the expectation of being rewarded doesn’t that remove the kindness from the gesture. I immediately hated the fortune and the new project
So I crunched the cookie contemplating this egotistical position because that is what I do best and hoped this fortune had lucky numbers on the back (it did not) that I could write about. Then I read it again and thought about Karma and how that observing its principles are no better then actively giving to a charity.
Then I crossed that 2 minute mark of consideration and I had three thoughts that I thought worth sharing:
- The phrase “Random Act of Kindness”– I see this term more and more often. Daily its all over Facebook and Instagram. Is being kind something that should be contained to random occurrences? I guess I consider “Random Acts of Kindness” being a “Human F*cking Being”. I think we should all raise the bar on being human with each other and push being kind into a higher plane.
- Sequentially the next thought I had was this cookie is smarter than I am. For starters this is not a difficult task. I read the fortune a few times and realized that maybe it’s author knew that in fact the act of showing kindness is its own reward. Maybe they knew one needs to reflect on that when you perform said kind act. There should never be an expectation of praise or return on that kindness.
- Lastly, I remembered I had heard this fortune before so I Googled it and found that there is a similar Christian Proverb “Your kindness will reward you, but your cruelty will destroy you.” I actual liked that version too because it creates a duality to the whole kindness. Ironically, I came across that proverb on a Bible site that charges users to look up the Book… not sure if Jay would feel that or not.
Overall Cookie taste: 5, very soggy and lacked some crunch.
thefortunecookieprojectcom 
