Luck and talismans, part one...

After realizing I've been living in Austin for a year and a half now and I still have no live plants inside my house (it's good feng shui to have growing plants in your home) because I gave the ones I had away when I moved, I finally broke down and bought lucky bamboo in a red vase. My first live plant purchase, which got me thinking about lucky objects, talismans, feng shui, and superstition.

I could have gone for a spider plant, a philodendron, or some other plant that's nearly impossible to kill. Even a cactus, considering I now live in Texas. But I went for the lucky bamboo. And as I placed it on my fireplace mantel next to my lucky Happy Hoi Toi (symbolizes health and happiness) that I got at LimeBlue in Charleston, a green candle in a Japanese bowl a friend gave me years ago, and close to photos of people I miss very much, I realized just how many lucky objects and talismans I have around my house. And whether they work because they work, or they work because I believe they do, I also realized that I am a lucky girl. I do believe we create our own luck, but that a talisman or two (or five) can't hurt, especially if they remind you of people you love.


Photo: Lucky Bamboo, Happy Hoi Toi, Lucky Candle, and my favorite photo of my BFF Mary Kathryn. A "quadplex" of luck.

I'm working with a theme this month, so this will be the first in a series posts about lucky talismans. Am I the only superstitious one out there? Do you have any objects in your home that could be considered lucky charms?

Remembering...

I used to think that if I told the real truth, the whole world would burst into flames. Nine years ago it felt like it did. It makes me remember and feel...

...like telling some people what I know that I pretend not to know so they could be just as shocked at the betrayal of others as I was at theirs.

...extraordinary shame when I catch myself wishing that bad things would happen to bad people. It's not up to me to mete out punishment.

...pity at discovering, though years have passed, sometimes people remain in the same emotional place in their lives forever.

...sorrow that, although I would love to put some things behind me and forget about them altogether, one cannot have an elective lobotomy. I tend to worry circumstance like a loose tooth.

...lost. I need an emotional and spiritual GPS.

...hopeful when I am reminded of kindness that came out of nowhere.

...grateful for the love in my life.