Some people love Chinese take away. I’m pretty sure that it has absolutely nothing to do with anything that actually reflects food in China – now or in any historical context. However, sometimes I can’t avoid it and it remains true that the best part is always the fortune cookie.
I’m also not a fan of the cookie, but I would never skip getting one – I can’t wait to break into it to get my fortune (or those lottery numbers and a new vocabulary word that I’ll never be able to pronounce correctly). Then, I give the cookie away.
The fortune is key. The fortune is full of possibilities because we all know that fortune cookies only hold truths. We can laugh about it, we can make jokes about it, but can anyone ever read their fortune and remain completely unaffected?
A recent fortune told me, “to have a friend, be a friend”. I translate that to mean that to assure that you have friends, you have to be a good friend to others. Or more cryptically, to receive you must first give. Holding on to your gifts diminishes those gifts but giving them away causes them to grow. And when you grip your gift like Golum clutches the Ring, you’re not allowing yourself to be as open to the gifts that others share.
All that got me thinking about how sometimes we hoard our music. We can be so self-critical. And sometimes we let that self-criticism censor our performances. We won’t play for others and instead focus on the lack of perfection.
There is no perfection. There is only a depth of accomplishment!
Don’t get me wrong, it does take an effort to put yourself out there and share music with others. It does require that you prepare – yourself, your music and check – your tuning, your ego. All that means that you do have to swallow down the flipflops in your stomach and give, give, give!
But it is so worth it – you get that high from getting out there, they get the beauty of the music, you both enjoy participating in being together – what’s not to like.
So when you are sitting at your harp telling yourself that you’re not good enough, ask yourself this – good enough for what? Of course you’re good enough! You are more than good enough to share your gifts with your friends. And in return, they’ll share their gifts – of joy, laughter, good times – with you!
So, break open a fortune cookie – what does yours say? How will you share with others in the short term? What’s holding you back? Let me know – can’t wait to hear!