"When you believe in things that you don't understand..."

I chose this title because I think "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder is one of the best songs ever recorded.

That being said, this tune has been popping into my head more and more recently, as I notice how superstitious I've become. I never considered myself a superstitious person. I don't hesitate to walk under ladders (if safe), and I hope black cats cross my path so I can pet them. I don't want to break a mirror, but it's just for the mess and the expense. Seven years of bad luck is a bunch of hooey.

Now I have evidence to prove that I'm slipping:

1. As Detroiters, we're pretty big Pistons basketball fans. The Pistons won the championship two years ago, and were in the running again last year. For the last round of playoffs, Rob, Tony, and I determined that the Pistons would win if we: a). watched the game in our basement; b). somehow incorporated food from Taco Bell into the evening; and c) tossed around Rob's old hackey sack (sp?) during commercial breaks. The Pistons may have lost because of the one night we watched the game at Tony's and ordered pizza.

2. I recently sold my old car, which I'd been advertising for months. I realize that the eventual selling had much to do with the fact that I lowered the price to about half of the cars worth. But in the last days of ownership, I took to some ridiculous superstitions: a). keep discussions about the car to a minimum - no details about any potential buyers, and b). park current car behind the old car in the driveway, even if you think someone's coming over to look at it. I have no evidence that these things didn't in fact help me. I stuck to them and the car sold.

I'm a pretty logical person, and I realize how irrational these practices are, but I resort to them anyway - perhaps as a comfort, or a way of feeling I have control over a situation that I truly have no control over. Maybe it's just an excuse to eat Taco Bell.
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Reply #1 Top

Hehe...I've run into some of those things in my life.  I think they are a way of letting our minds try to control an uncontrollable situation.

My Great Grandma was *very* superstitious.  I never new her, but her stories still ring in my mind.  She thought snakes were the devil on earth.  You had to kill them, chop their heads of and flatten them out (driving over them with a car a few times was good) before the evil was gone.  If you didn't, something bad would happen to you.  I can only imagine how she would have reacted to the pet iguana I had LOL

 

Reply #2 Top
I can relate and understand when it comes to superstitions! There are so many superstitions in my culture and my mom was one of the most superstitious person I know. We also believed in the bad luck if you broke a mirror or walked under a ladder, so we made sure never to do that. Also when we moved into a new house or new apartment, there were little rituals to be done before we moved in. I believed it was more of a "good or bad karma" situation than being scared! I still practice some of those superstitions though. You sold your car, superstition or not, it worked, right?!