«The power to shape time and history to my liking? Oh ho ho, fuck yeah. Nah, the fun wasn’t in the having. It was in the getting. So I changed things up one more time. Now what I want is always just outta reach. I gotta earn it. I score lotsa wins, but not always. And when I do win, it’s something to savor.»
Kano in Mortal Kombat
Visiting lots of shrines, you can’t help but notice the Omikuji — fortune-telling paper slips:
It’s a nice idea, esp. considering that you just tie a bad fortune to rack and leave it there. (And likely buy a new slip hoping for improvement …)
And there are lots of bad fortunes …
Trying out drawing my fortune in different shrines in Japan, I had a bad fortune, a good fortune, and then this one: Let’s call it a mixed fortune:
Personally, I think that is the best. Mixed fortunes.
Bad fortunes are a no-brainer — while adversity can be used to develop resilience and grit, if there is only bad fortune then what’s the point. It does not give you anything nor allow you to become better, it’s just a blight.
Good fortunes might sound nice, but first there is the problem that you start to fear change — as any change would be negative akin to a «regression to the mean» — and that it’s just … too easy, too boring. And even worse, it’s not deserved, as it’s fortune, not merit.
But mixed fortunes — some things work out and others don’t, at best depending on your actions — that’s something that makes life interesting.
So, happy mixed fortunes.