I’ve created some weird superstitions or OCD-isms in my lifetime.
The earliest I remember was as a teenager, it stemmed from the whole phenomenon of a pididdle (a car with one headlight out) – I came up with the notion, if I saw I vehicle I liked, i’d wink at it, once with one eye, then the other. This would mean I would get that car. Simple eh? (I should mention this totally does not work).
I now have this odd fixation with digits. If the clock reads the same numbers across the board, say 2:22, I can make a wish. This is not all that uncommon… but I morphed this into an insane ritual for setting an alarm clock (in the rare event that i do); none of the numbers can match.
It gets nuttier.
Now, when i pump gas, I let the thing fill up and stop naturally. If the numbers stop at the price all different, say, $32.09 – I will have good fortune. If some numbers match (like 34.44), I pump until they dont (35.01). This is a way of controlling my destiny and avoiding bad fortune.
Maybe these OCD things are a way to pepper an easy “win” throughout the week.
It’s messed up. I just know all of it is completely ridiculous and I shouldn’t even mention it, unless to a therapist.
I’m sort of the opposite of the numbers thing. I often pump until I get matching numbers. It’s like the idea of twins being sacred or, power in numbers (sacred accumulation of objects in non-western cultures). Have you ever seen piles of votives at a shrine? It’s like that idea for me. And, of course, certain numbers carry more weight but only if they come up naturally.
BTW, I’m heading to Springfield for Christmas. I’ll try to call you once I get up there. I’ll probably get to Cincy but, since I’m not driving this time I can’t say where I might be at any time. I’ll be up there a week though.
I used to have one with the number 37. If I saw it anywhere I would just assume it was part of some sort of conspiracy. Nothing sinister, just that, perhaps everything that happened was all meant to happen and part of a bigger scheme of things. And the number appearing somewhere was another reminder of that.
Quite silly really.
Where do superstitions come from? People talk about stuff like smashing mirrors means seven years bad luck, but why? That’s what I want to know.