AES13 - Superstitions

Since this is my thirteenth essay, I thought it would be fitting to write about superstitions.

Superstitions are usually regarded in a negative light, even though I don’t really think they should be. True, some can be irrational and limiting. They can bring baseless fear to the believers, or an illusion of safety. Yet superstitions are part of their respective cultures and can’t be shaken off that easily. Besides, some of them have acceptable reasoning behind them, long forgotten.

One example of this is a local superstition against whistling at nighttime. It is said to bring demons and other supernatural creatures. There is a simple explanation to that, of course. People slept at earlier hours than they do now, and it would disturb anyone trying to rest. Another superstition is one forbidding believers to trim nails at night. It is supposed to cut your life short. Of course, without proper lighting, you could accidentally cut and injure yourself.

Superstitions, most of the time, are just old habits that remain through generations. There is a good deal of personal beliefs, bias and expectation. The Barnum Effect plays a hand in them, too. But however odd they can sometimes be, superstitions don’t deserve such a bad reputation or to be thrown out of the window. They are ingrained in cultures and beliefs, reminders of homelands and, in some ways, home itself.

Like all things, though, we should take them with some consideration and a grain of salt. Maybe more than a grain. So long as superstitions aren’t taken too seriously, so long as they don’t rule over any lives, we can live with them and respect them.