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SUPERSTITION

Myths that become fetishes.

Scoffing logic; embracing wish.

Seeking safety in a house of delusion.

Reliance on a legacy of misconceptions.

Naďve, obsessive ‘remedies’ of the egocentric.

Enthusiastic ascribing of powers that do not exist.

A marriage of need and desire with expedient fancy.

Conjuring and incantations that de-mystify unseen forces, demons and execrations.

Imaginings that have been encouraged by fear, accommodation and submissiveness.

Beliefs founded on ‘howling at the moon’ or on any other means of defending against threatening enigmas.
 

  • Perhaps we can never abide uncertainty.
     
  • Perhaps humor's simplicity and honesty is effective in alleviating fears.
     
  • Perhaps you can make a pumpkin into a pear if no one has ever tasted either.
     
  • Perhaps endowing talent and power to entities outside ourselves facilitates confidence.
     
  • Perhaps the Divine is always present; perhaps we deem It more complex than It really is.
     
  • Perhaps answers are essential for our peace of mind; perhaps we will use any means to find them.
     
  • Perhaps encounters with the unknown will always invite interpretations that range from reasonable to whimsical.
     
  • Perhaps humans will always seek refuge in their creations no matter how outlandish as long as they provide relief from anxiety or discomfort.
     
  • Perhaps codifying the patently inane is the purview of swollen egos that depend on deceit or self-deception; perhaps a ‘leader’s’ agenda will be praised the more coached it is in the enigmatic and the arcane.
     
  • Perhaps the last resort of cajolers is a conscience; perhaps when they become ardent proselytizers they conjure images and concepts that captivate; perhaps the ‘needy’ and gullible will always be impressed.

    share your ‘comforting’ obsessions??

ESSAY ON SUPERSTITION by EDWIN O’SHEA

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