Tuesday, September 15, 2009
9/9/09?
The number nine is said to be both a lucky and unlucky number. In Chinese the number sounds much like "longlasting" and in Japanese it sounds like "suffering." I see and read about classmates and anyone with internet access acting as if this day will bring something significant. My own mother tells me that this day, September 9, 2009, will only happen once and to not let worries trouble me today. My question is why? Why is there so much emphasis on days like that when they're no different than any other? Just because a number sounds "lucky" doesn't mean it is. Do they expect a fairy to float down and grant them a wish or is it just something to believe in? An idea that no one can disprove or take away from them; one last string of hope to cling on to in these times when almost anything can (and will) go wrong. Maybe it's just the pessimism in me trying to bring down any chance of optimism. Maybe it's the Agnostic side of me that wants cold, hard facts before letting myself believe. I'm guessing it has to do with faith. There are those who choose religion and believe that a deity is watching over them. I'm just not one of those people. I applaud those who choose to believe, I really do, but I can't allow myself to be like that. I can't believe that this is the way those deities left this world in the state it's in. Our world is engulfed in crime, violence, greed, suffering... but we did all that. Humans. As a result of our desire-- scratch that-- voracity for power we have ultimately destroyed ourselves. Again, that's the pessimism inching its way back into my mind.
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Helen,
ReplyDeleteThis post is very thought-provoking. Do you realize the complexity of your ideas here? You blame deities for the state of the world and say this is why you cannot have faith in anything spiritual or immaterial, even just lucky numbers. But you also blame human beings for messing everything up. So maybe deities just leave us to our own designs and we mess it all up? So what is your battle with faith really about?
Of course, I'm not arguing one way or another, but I recognized some interesting patterns in your ideas that you could think about some more.
Eric
I did not know that the number nine seems like both "suffering" and "long lasting" in other languages. I was told that nine is a lucky number, however, I was not told that the day 09/09/09 would be a great day that would bring me some new fortune. If I was told that, like you, I would not think much of it because it's a day like any other day. The day's date cannot determine whether it will automatically be a good or a bad day.
ReplyDeleteAt the end, I can directly relate to you unlike most people. A lot of people tend to hate religion or embrace it and i dont see why people are so drastic. I too applaud people who choose to believe and can have that conviction and give themselves to something. I am still waiting for that one thing i can completely give myself to. I am not one that hate religion but I too can not give everything I am to uncertainty. Thank for showing me someone else thinks like me.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, towards the end of your blog. I too, am a person who needs facts before believing firmly in something. I am not a very religious person, but I know that something had to make all of what we know and are. I just don't know what something is or who that someone is. I tend to believe in the Big Bang Theory. But all the gases that created the big bang had to come from somewhere. In the end something had to start it all.
ReplyDeleteMr. Sentell- I guess it's both, really. One can't take all the blame and the other none. My problem more or less lies with the people who put so much faith in these deities and rely on prayers alone to help them through. I'm not saying there aren't "miracles," but when has praying that your family's business will pull through actually worked?
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