I am among the growing number of "nones" in this nation. I adhere to no particular religious faith, but I join the rest of the human race in harboring a number of superstitions.
When we were children, we endlessly played the sidewalk game "step on a crack, break your mother's back." Depending on how I felt toward my mother, a wonderful woman, on the day in question determined whether I would step on said crack. She never seemed affected one way or the other, so I wonder why I continue to believe in superstitions.
I long ago eschewed the sidewalk crack superstition. But others have replaced it over the years. All of them pertain to one's level of smugness in a particular situation. The first one I took on was NEVER BRAG ABOUT HOW WELL YOUR CAR IS RUNNING. In my early days of car ownership most of my autos were parent hand me downs. I don't think I need to elaborate on the challenges of owning old used cars.
The next superstition evolved over many years of being employed. Occasionally I would notice that an inordinate number of people were calling in sick with the "flu." I would think to myself "what a bunch of weenies, I feel great." You guessed it. Even a smug thought would bring about a sore throat that very day. So the maxim is NEVER HAVE THOUGHTS THAT YOU ARE HEALTHIER THAN EVERYONE AROUND YOU.
I am one of those insane people who owns a couple of horses. Believe me, there is no such thing as a "bomb proof" horse. Most of the time my horses have greatly humbled me. Any time I thought I had figured out the horse's mental process in any way, I was put in my place. My horse Teddy reinforced another one of my superstitions NEVER THINK TO YOURSELF THAT YOU HAVE DONE A FABULOUS JOB OF WORKING WITH THIS HORSE. Within minutes of my silent self congratulation, I found myself flat on my back gasping for air after his successful attempt to buck me off .
Over the last two weeks during this horrendous Northwest heat wave, I added another one. I realized that I have been BRAGGING, not just feeling smug, to my family and friends in Texas about the WONDERFUL MILD SUMMERS up here. I've been doing this for decades, so now I'm really in for it. We are in the midst of many successive days of high 90's and over 100 degree weather. So I leave you with my latest superstition DON'T EVEN THINK, MUCH LESS BRAG ABOUT, THAT YOUR CLIMATE IS BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE'S.
So that leaves us with the question, can smugness affect your life's events?