FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2021 LOVE WINS

 FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2021 LOVE WINS

Today is Friday the 13th.  It is the only Friday the 13th in the year 2021.  Some years can have as many as three Friday the 13th, or two - or like this year - only one Friday the 13th. 

In some cultures, Friday the 13th is considered unlucky.  Some say this goes back to the Last Supper of Jesus and his twelve disciples (so 13 in the room), and one (Judas) betrayed him.  So, 13 is an unlucky number.

(Humor: By-the-way, thinking of the last supper, can you imagine reserving a room - where all the chairs are on one side of the table with six on one side of the main figure and six on the other side - like the famous painting of the Last Supper - but it does make for an artistic work).

The National Day Calendar calls this - the first (and only this year) Friday the 13th of 2021 as “Blame Somebody Else Day”

The National Day Calendar says this: 

“National Blame Someone Else Day uses superstition to pawn our mistakes on to other reasons. It is always celebrated on the first Friday the 13th of the year.

While considering how to spend this Friday the 13th freebee, plan accordingly. We all run into a little bad luck from time to time. Occasionally a flat tire or an alarm clock sets our day on another course. At other times, someone placed in our path causes a malfunction in our day. It may be someone we know. Or, it could be a complete stranger. Either way, casting blame comes in all forms.

A co-worker, our child, a spouse – we’ve been known to throw them under the bus when we needed a scapegoat. Or perhaps they do own the blame for our lateness, stained clothing, or dented car.

What about our bad behavior? A short temper that explodes in the boss’s office or a shortcut we take when we run short on time – who is really to blame? Well, on this occasion, someone else is to blame. Just this once. In terms of an excuse, we can blame another. We can blame the dog, the weather, or the mechanic.”

So, National Blame Somebody Else day.

But, what about Friday the 13th?

“Researchers estimate that as many as 10 percent of the U.S. population has a fear of the number 13, and each year the even more specific fear of Friday the 13th, known as paraskevidekatriaphobia, results in financial losses in excess of $800 million annually, as people avoid marrying, traveling or in the most severe cases, even working. But what’s so unlucky about the number 13, and how did this numerical superstition get started?

“Mathematicians and scientists, meanwhile, point to the preeminence of the number 12, often considered a “perfect” number, in the ancient world. The ancient Sumerians developed a numeral system based on the use of 12 that is still used for measuring time today. Most calendars have 12 months; a single day is comprised of two 12-hour half days, etc. Following so closely on the heels of a “perfect” number, some argue, that 13 was sure to be found lacking and unusual. “

Another source talks about hotels and tall buildings skipping the 13th floor.  “Ever wonder why you’ve never stayed in a hotel room on the 13th floor? The answer is simple: The floor doesn’t exist. It all comes down to triskaidekaphobia, or the fear of the number 13.

The building just skips having a floor numbered the 13th floor and instead becomes the 14th floor!!!

*****

Since I tend to write about religious ideas on LOVE WINS Friday - can superstition (aka - being scared of Friday the 13th, black cats, walking under a ladder, breaking a mirror, and more).  

We may have noticed baseball players doing certain things before batting - maybe making the sign of the cross, maybe taking exactly five practice swings, maybe some other pre-batting rituals.  

I think (so, this is my opinion), that some religious believers might also have certain routines as regards their faith practice.  Maybe to have God answer prayers, they have to recite some standard prayers first.  Maybe God won’t hear them unless they say a particular prayer (like the Lord’s Prayer/Our Father Prayer).  Maybe God won’t hear them unless they are on their knees.  Maybe like Muslims, they need to be oriented to Mecca when praying on a special prayer rug.  

I have two opinions on having a set routine.  If it feels good and relaxes you before prayer or before a worship experience - great; and if you don’t feel the need for a particular pattern before prayer or worship - that is also great. I view my relationship with God to be a pretty wonderful thing but I like keeping that relationship fresh and vibrant.  

When I exercise, I should do more stretches first.  I see people who have a set of stretches, muscle workouts - and I just “do it”.  The people with routines probably get more out of their workouts because they have flexed their muscles.  I suppose without stretching, I could pull a muscle.  And, the same thing with “exercising” one’s faith.  

But, if the activities get to be a barrier - like being superstitious and doing some ‘mindless’ activity just because that is the way it always has been done and it doesn’t get very deep.

*****

And, back to the first thought today - Blame Somebody Else Day - we like scapegoats.

Like Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville song:

Some people claim that there's a woman to blame

But I know, it's my own damn fault

Blaming somebody when it is our own fault isn’t a smart move!!!

*****

LOVE WINS!!!

Karen