Monday, October 16, 2006
Luck
We Buddhists are not supposed to believe in luck. Notions of good and bad luck are superstitious and Buddhism is above all a pragmatic, realistic religion.
Well, that's yet another thing I'll have to deal with in a future life, because in this one I've got lots of superstitions.
Readers who have been around or who know me in real life know that I'm a Grade A, certifiable Batman nut. I've got display shelves in my living room for my action figure collection (much to my wife's chagrin).
Most of my superstitions revolve around Batman paraphenalia. I like to have a Batman branded item in every room of my house and I'm always sure to take some sort of Batman good luck charm with me when I travel.
I used to have a set of good luck Batman underwear. They were a very well-fitting, comfortable pair of cotton boxers branded with Batman Forever imagery. For several years, I treated them like the Felix Felicis potion in Harry Potter. I would wear them only occasionally, only on days when I expected to really, really need some good luck.
Those who've read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince know that the effect of the Felix Felicis potion is partly psychological. Characters are shown to have good luck if they merely think they have taken the potion, even if they have in fact been given a placebo. It's all just a confidence thing. I know that, rationally.
But then one day something terrible happened. I was going through an especially trying time at work, so I foolishly committed both a superstitiously and hygenically repulsive act: I wore the lucky underwear for two days in a row!
Well, that cooked it. It drained the luck right out of it. From that day forward, my beloved Batman Forever boxers had the exact opposite effect: wear them and whatever I did that day was doomed from the start.
What's worse, it had a spill-over effect. Now my entire collection of Batman underwear is cursed. Sixties Batman, Batman Returns, animated series Batman, even just the plain old Batman logo boxers have all turned into harbingers of bad days.
It breaks my heart, I tell ya.
And how about you, dear reader? What are your superstitions? Don't try telling me you don't have any. We all have a few, even if they're small and subconscious. So 'fess up...believe me, you'll feel better for it.
posted by Mentok @ 11:06 a.m.,
10 Comments:
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At 5:32 p.m.,
Library Mama said...
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Feelin' lucky tonight, sailor?
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At 5:48 p.m.,
Mentok said...
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As you well know, my dear, all my Batman underwear is in the wash.
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At 7:12 p.m.,
Library Mama said...
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Okay - now I'm confused.
Does that make you lucky or not?
I guess it makes me unlucky, since I'm the one who does the laundry! -
At 11:32 p.m.,
Suzan Abrams, email: suzanabrams@live.co.uk said...
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Hi Mentok,
In true woman solidarity, my sympathies lie wholeheartedly with LM.
But I do recognise a passion for Batman, having been in love with him myself from when I was about 4 years old. I collected Batman cards & comics & my mum let me stay up for the telly shows.
But I wonder with your enthusiasm, that LM hasn't had a few Batman nightmares herself!
Just curious... -
At 9:45 a.m.,
Mentok said...
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Susan - if you were baptized into the Batman faith as a child, then there is hope for you yet. Come back to the fold, my dear. There's room in the Batcave for everyone! ;-)
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At 3:43 p.m.,
FiL said...
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I looooved the camp 60s TV show - Batgirl & Catwoman were my first crushes. However, I never really got into the other permutations.
Hmm, superstitions... Well, I always recite in my head the following one liner each time I take off in an airplane: "The ocean is so wide and my boat is so small." Corny, but there you have it.
I also will not speak ill of a stuffed animal in its presence, nor will I let anyone else do so, lest its feelings are hurt.
*FiL closes kimono* -
At 3:47 p.m.,
Bathroom Hippo said...
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My good luck charm isn't a Bible, a rabbit's foot, or pirate's testicles (see Fil)....
it's simply my fist! And if you double-cross me I'll use it everytime!
Oh...now I should probably read this post. Hah! -
At 3:53 p.m.,
Mentok said...
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FiL - I'm not sure what the kimono comment is about, and maybe I don't want to know ;-)
As a hard-core Batman fan, I go the other way on preferences. I love the Christian Bale version, can't stand the Adam West one (they were, after all, mocking the character.)
But I hear ya on the crushes. There was never a Catwoman like Julie Newmar. She was soooo sexy it hurts to think about it. -
At 10:06 p.m.,
Suzan Abrams, email: suzanabrams@live.co.uk said...
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Hi Mentok,
I forgot to answer you on superstitions.
Asia boasts of thousands, I must say.
In Malaysia & Singapore,
when we hand each other a safety pin, it's not to be given into another's hand but placed on a table & collected to avoid bad luck.
Amongst Hindus, bad luck to give handkerchiefs as birthday presents.
Amongst Chinese, bad luck to give clocks as gifts.
And when someone makes a proclaimation of a blessing (example, "Thank God, I've never been sick..." or a future proclaimation of something nice to come, that person or the one listening is also likely to add "Touch wood" & immediately proceed to touch a chair, table etc.
Just so the blessing or future prophecy doesn't fall apart. Just trivial things one still carries like a habit from childhood.
I still can't bring myself to walk under a ladder. And this for no logical reason. -
At 2:11 p.m.,
FiL said...
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Erm, never heard of the phrase "open kimono?" Goodness, it'sd probably something I picked up after years of working in a Dilbertian corporation. It means "to come clean" or "to be honest." As in:
"I'm going to be totally open kimono here. In order to achieve six sigma, we're going to need all stakeholders to think outside of the box and push the envelope. This might mean migrating processes as part of a hubification strategy, but the resulting synergies will be a win-win for the firm as a whole."
Oh boy, that's brought back some nauseating memories. Where's my bucket...?
