Laurel Lynch: Walk through my superstitions with me - just not under a ladder

A beautiful donation of new shoes arrived at HOPE's office for shelter clients. When I saw the shoes stacked up on the table in the conference room, without thinking I said, "Oh no shoes upon the table that's bad luck!"

Wow, my second thought: Where did that come from, and since when do I say "upon" the table?

Try as we might to not turn into our mothers, at some point you'll find, like I did -- your mother's words come tumbling out of your mouth. I didn't mind sounding like her, but I was surprised by my automatic reaction and acceptance of her superstitions. Until that moment, I'd never really given much thought to all the silly little habits I'd picked up to ensure good luck or avoid bad luck.

My mother is a Liverpudlian; for those not familiar with the Beatles, that's a person from Liverpool, a city in northwest England. My father's family hails from Cavan, Ireland, and my grandparents held many of the same superstitious beliefs about luck, omens and fortune telling. My family history is rife with Irish and English superstitions and folklore that I was stunned to realize I adhered to and would have guessed had no bearing on me.

After all, I have a master's degree, am fairly successful, very logical (I think Sudoku puzzles and Excel spreadsheets were created to calm me when stressed -- that kind of logical) and know better than to believe in all that "mumbo jumbo." So why then do I avoid a crack in the sidewalk, "touch" or knock on wood to ensure something comes true and, when I remember, say "white rabbit" before uttering any words on the first day of a new month for good luck?

Now that I'm really thinking about it, things directly attributable to my ancestry include: feeling lucky when I meet a black cat, or if I find a clover with four leaves. Putting money in a wallet or handbag when given as a gift brings good luck and, specifically, placing coins in a wallet means the person receiving the gift will never be poor, nor the wallet empty.

I don't walk underneath a ladder, open an umbrella indoors or pass someone on the stairs.

If I spill salt, I quickly throw it over my shoulder to counteract the misfortune. If I drop a table knife I mutter, 'company's coming' and expect a visitor. If my left palm is itchy, I

must be coming into money; the right palm, I'm giving money away.

There is no question, my family members were smart, ambitious and hard-working, so why all the superstitions? Why weren't these things ever questioned and how did it become so engrained for so many generations?

Well, maybe because they were trying to explain things that seemed inexplicable. Many superstitions began when little was known about how the physical world functions and my ancestors, like so many others, made an attempt to make sense of the world through these ideas of cause and effect. In today's more scientific, fact-based world, superstitions still exist for the same basic reason they began: a belief in superstitions gives people an impression of control in an uncontrollable world.

Experiences like a sudden accident or a surprising windfall make us wonder why it happened. Superstitions seemingly are the easy route people take for coming to terms with a surprising event they cannot explain in any other way. As a hard-working person in a world of hard-working people, I think about it this way: Something outside of one's control -- something magical if you will, just might help us triumph. Yet, even with all the right rituals, some never got ahead. So maybe, just maybe it helps us to have hope and stay positive.

So, do I believe in these superstitions? Not really. But do I adhere to them? You'd better believe it! Why not? Not to mention, there's a little voice whisperingwhat if they're right and besides, is there really any harm?

So as I sit here putting the final touches on this column, let me go put on my shamrock pin and my lucky NFL Buccaneer pajamas and wish you and yours a very fortuitous and happy New Year and the Tampa Bay Bucs a winning 2015 football season.

Laurel Lynch, executive director of HOPE Family Services, can be reached at laurel.lynch@hopefamilyservice.org.

COMING NEXT SUNDAY: Ashley Brown, executive director of the Women's Resource Center of Manatee, reflects on being a stepmother.

This story was originally published January 11, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Laurel Lynch: Walk through my superstitions with me - just not under a ladder ."