Rant Number 13
What else, on Friday the 13th - could I write about!?
To start with, I would just like to make it clear that I am not referring to the fantastic 1973 Stevie Wonder hit 'Superstition,' about which I have no negative things to say.
No, I mean superstition in the literal sense. People worry about bad luck, bad juju - or whatever, brought on by everyday events etc.
And when I say people - I include my self, I have ceremonies for certain things (such as my regimen for brass band contents,) and feel more secure when these things happen.
The thing is though - even I know that these things don't have much if any bearing on the real world.
I have no plans for instance to go breaking a mirror any time soon - for fear of 7 years bad luck.
I mean - my luck isn't the best at times anyway - so 7 years bad would not be great.
Truthfully though - surely breaking a mirror in the first place is generally going to be the result of bad luck - unless you have some kind of vendetta against polished surfaces. Going by this logic - a person who is suffering from 7 years of bad luck, is far more likely to break another mirror - resulting in another potentially 7 years bad luck.
Poor bastards! - 7 years, could become 14 could become 21 and so on.
This begs yet another question doesn't it? If you were say: 3 years roughly into your 7 years and you broke a second mirror - do you get 7 years from this point - making 10 years total - or do the bad vibes stack up - making 14.
If I may make another point as well - many actors have broken mirrors - for dramatic effect (usually with their fist - to make them look macho!)
If you break a mirror in character, does this count? Most actors are rich, famous and have a pretty easy time of things - so the logic of them being unlucky doesn't follow.
And speaking of actors (admittedly mainly the theatrical ones,) are they ever a superstitious bunch (with the possible exception of the mirror breaking with the fist to make you look macho thing.)
Say 'Macbeth' for instance to an actor, they will shy away from you (in a very lovey way) and will ask you not to speak of the 'Scottish play.' If you tell wish them good luck, they will berate you for dooming their performance - asking you instead to say 'break a leg.' They don't even approve of whistling - which is also bad luck.
More generally - there are literally hundreds - even thousands of superstitions around the world.
Some make sense to me: Not walking under a ladder for instance.
There is after all - actually a very real chance someone might drop something on you
Some don't: Black cat's are not going to cause you bad luck, just by being black...
All in all, what annoys me about superstitions is that we cannot resist them. I would like to feel that there is good luck out there sometimes - which means I suppose that I must accept the inverse.
Bloody stupid all round.
Rant over.
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