Superstitions
In Moldova there is this superstition
that cold air, or any kind of breeze, will make you sick. That is why
when you ride in a hot maxi-taxi, Squeezed closer to several random
strangers than a teenager at a concert, There are no windows open.
And the stand up refrigerators are usually just unplugged display
cases- you wouldnt want the cold air to fall out on you! Another
wives tale is that if a woman sits on the ground (because it is
cold) she will become infertile. (They will literally look at
you like you are crazy if you do). Also If a girl whistles she will
grow a mustache.
Learning these things made me wonder
what kinds of wives-tales we learn in the US. Some if those I could
think of include: toads give you warts, hold your breath when
crossing bridges (and through tunnels), vultures circle dead (or soon
to be dead) meat. Mosquito Hawks eat mosquitos.
It makes me wonder where these
stories came from. I think that if you were able to look back in time
you would see a good reason for their creation, but
something was miss-understood, or
some vital detail left out,
and we just kept passing along the tale.
Over the course of my race, I
have realized that I do that sort of thing with lies. I remember
learning something but it gets mixed and peaces left out, and soon
its nothing like the original, has no sound backing, but by that time
its so integrated into my unconscious thought pattern, the way I view
myself, or God, or the world around me, that I cant even see the flaw
in the infrastructure.
But even unseen, these lies cause
problems.
So I follow the string of thoughts.
Writing down reactions, and questioning them. Praying for guidance,
that lies would be revealed, and that I come to the root problem.
On the Race, you are told to
press into pain, that it is an indicator of an area you can grow in.
That may be true, but in addition to outright pain, discomfort, anger
and annoyance can also be good indicators that something needs
attention.
I am not saying I am an expert, or
that I have practiced this a lot- but I have learned a lot about
myself, and my views of God and other people by (writing works for
me) perusing the reason for the aggravation. Asking why I think that,
and why I think that next thought, and so on till I get to the
bottom. The real reason for the discomfort.
