Superstitions. They are really something, aren’t they? I think most people have a little bit of a superstitious streak. Maybe just a little one. I know I can, at times. You see. We get it naturally. It started way back in the dark dark ages of man. They lived and died by the superstition.
Early man attempted to explain Nature and his own existence. (We still do, actually.) There was a deep belief that animals, nature, and objects held a very deep connection to spirits and the spirit world.
They may have been right about that point, too. But…. … ..
Back when…. in order to have a “sense” of appeasing these forces…. people would do certain “things” to ensure their good fortune. And. Many superstitions have come from mythology, where omens were common.
Truly, superstitions live on, because they have been passed on from generation to generation. But here we are in the 21st Century. And, even today, where direct evidence and facts outweigh these wonky beliefs….. there are probably very few people, who can absolutely deny, that they do not at least have an itsy-bitsy, teeny, weeny, ….. secret inkling…. or slight belief in one or two superstitions.
Yet, it still drives a lot of people’s lives. The number 13 for instance. A lot of people see the this number as being some sort of bad luck moment. So they’ll avoid Friday the 13th especially, or $0.13 in their pocket.
But what about superstitions that never quite pan out? Let’s take the “Spilling of the Salt” superstition. If you spill salt… it can be even worse than bringing bad luck. It is an invitation to let the devil in. Yikes-o.
So. Here is what you do. You put salt in your right hand, and then your hoist it over your left shoulder to make sure you don’t have bad luck.
But have you ever thought about the guys that work in the salt trucks in Ohio and all the winter states? They are spilling salt constantly. I can’t imagine they can NOT throw enough salt over there left shoulder to make up for that.
Or…. what about people that work in Ladder Factories? Oh for crying out loud, you would have to run around in circles all day just to make sure you didn’t walk under some sort of ladder.
Let’s not even discuss the old Mirror Factory. I am pretty sure a lot of those workers break mirrors during line production. I can’t imagine a factory full of people running around with intermittent periods of seven years bad luck.
Since we are on all of this…. How about our poor mothers? Certainly all of our mothers would have broken backs by now. I bet all the whole bunch of us have stepped on a million cracks in our lives. And nothing happened. Yet. Yet. What if your mother really did break her back at some point? Well then shame on you! I guess it worked in your case.
You know…. during the Middle Ages… Black Cats were seen as demons. They would block you entrance to heaven too. And these days? When one crosses your path? But hey. If you worked in a Black Cat Factory, there would be sure to have black cat crossing your path.
Wait a minute. I don’t think there are any Black Cat Factories. Maybe that’s a good thing.
So superstitions are around us all the time. Whether we realize it or not. And once again… they are a widely held…. but unjustified beliefs. And that is a belief in supernatural causes which lead to dire consequences.
Do they ever have merit? Do they ever come true?
I can’t know for sure, but until then… I’m keeping my fingers crossed, knocking on wood, finding a penny heads up, AND a four-leaf clover… AND hanging a horseshoe open-side up.
Just to be sure.