Every year starts out with a bang — fireworks are seen
shooting off all over the country and the world. Toasts to
the New Year are made and after several are downed, resolutions
are announced.
Many
resolutions are pretty common and will crop up in any group
of revelers gathered to celebrate the New Year. One often
at the top of the list is resolving to quit smoking. Many
people
make that one regularly each year but some don’t make
it past the first day. It’s good they realize and admit
quitting is a must though and not matter how many times they
fail, they should keep resolving to do it. I know it can
be done.
Another
very popular resolution is to lose weight. This too is a
resolve that often fails but if a person continues to
try, it can be accomplished — check out Jennifer Hudson.
Other items high on the list are better control of spending
and cutting back on alcohol use. Canceling credit cards is
another common pledge, but can be difficult to execute. Many
people announce they are going to exercise more — and
they do, for a few weeks, even months but eventually most
of us tire of it and head back to the couch.
Resolutions
to spend more time with family and friends or to simply enjoy
life more are well intentioned but our
busy
lives
force them to the “back burner” until they are
forgotten. You’ll often hear someone say they want
to get better organized or learn new things both worthy
endeavors. Try looking up a new word each day and learn
its meaning.
Find a job or a better job has become a resolution of too many
people and saving money as a resolution is hard to do when
there is so little of it. Taking a fun family vacation used
to be a favorite thing to resolve the first of each year but
lately, with the high cost of traveling, hard to achieve.
Superstitions
we come up with are endless. If you delve into their origin
you’ll find many have come from the Irish
who are said to be the most superstitious of all. I’ll
mention a few of the most popular; fear of bad luck
on Friday the 13th, or just fear of the number 13
(many high rise buildings
have no 13th floor). Avoiding a black cat crossing
your
path, an itchy palm bringing good luck and money
and of course,
the revered four-leaf clover.
There
are people who believe you have to get out of bed on the
same side you entered on or you will
have
a bad
day.
Eating black-eyed peas on New Years day brings
luck throughout the
year and one of my best; on the stroke of the New
Year, kissing your partner in love or forfeit their
affection
for the year.
I’m not sure I believe this one but why take a chance.
Making noise scares away the devil which may work because I’ve
never seen him on New Year’s Eve. Perhaps the most well
known superstition of all is a rabbit’s foot
bringing good luck. How lucky was it for the rabbit?
Among
the silly notions are; step on a crack you’ll break
your mother’s back. Wouldn’t that only apply if
she was lying on the sidewalk? Sailors believe a “Red
sky at night brings a sailors delight” when thinking
about tomorrow’s weather. Many of us believe
finding a penny with the face showing is good
luck. I think finding
a coin of any kind is good luck, finding folding
money even better.
The
belief that if you spill salt you should throw some over
your shoulder to ward off bad
luck should
be tempered
by
consideration for who might be behind you.
Then there is the question: “If
a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound and does anyone
hear it?” I think that would depend on how “dense” the
forest may be. The belief that “Still waters run deep” is
not always true just ask any boater who tried
to cross the Port Austin reef on a calm day.
As
I see it, the saying “Easier said than done” was
coined by a lazy person!
PostScript:
The incident that took place in Tucson last Saturday, January
8th is so appalling I hesitate to comment
about it. Perhaps as the tears dry and tensions ease, I’ll find a way to
express “As I see it.” For
now, let us keep those folks in our prayers.