I just wrote a lengthy piece about God, superstition, psychics, and Pope Francis. Then, I accidentally hit the X button and only the first couple of paragraphs were saved. It's gone, and I'm not writing it over again. I have decided to be superstitious?/spiritual?/religious? and take it as a sign that the piece was not meant for publication. Instead, I'll put a few random thoughts down here that are related to my lost essay.
- I can be superstitious. I like to look for patterns. I love rocks and I always have and I totally understand why a number of people believe that rocks and crystals have magical powers. I have known that my whole life! I spent hours looking for rocks as a kid. I identified them, glued them to a styrofoam board, and carried some around as "lucky rocks." So, I've got science and superstition covered here, right?
- I think that the greatest miracle of the Catholic Church is Pope Francis. I remember several years back hearing Chicago's Cardinal O'Connor say that a man with progressive thoughts and ideas (though he didn't put it quite like that) would never be allowed to raise in the ranks of the Church. Pope Francis gives me hope that the Catholic Church might actually evolve spiritually.
- I once had a medium very abruptly tell me that my husband's sister was standing next to her in spirit. She said that she had died in childhood, and had a message for my husband. How does a skeptic explain this away? Do you imagine that this psychic medium just kept saying this to random (random is my favorite word, lately) women until one of them actually had a husband with a sister who had died in childhood? Why do more women believe in the spirit world, fortune telling, etc. than men? Why do more right-brain dominant thinkers believe? Are these assumptions I am making, or would the statistics bear this out? Seems to me that right-brained dominant women are much more likely to be believers.
There was a great deal more in the essay, but these are the pieces I feel compelled to share. One of the issues I wanted to share, but I'm not sure if I can express it well has to do with magical thinking. Some childlike part of me thinks -- Lord knows why -- that if I write down thoughts, ideas, wishes, and questions, and shoot them into cyberspace by hitting the "publish" button, that something very good will happen. I'm not talking about something so mundane as being offered a writing job; I'm talking about something far more magical. Can't explain it. It's kid-thinking, and it defies logical description.
One, last, definitely sad item. I see another review of my book on amazon or goodreads or somewhere in which a reader wishes that I would write more. Problem is, I can't see how I'm going to find the time and space in which to complete that next book. I've got a business, a job homeschooling my children, a class to teach, a performance to direct -- how will I ever get Ghost in the Road done? I'm afraid it may stay in thought form for quite some time. Maybe I'll just write a series of bullet points for those who want to know what happens next and leave it to a bored, well-off person to write it.
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