Thoughts on Karma, Luck and Voodoo Catholicism

When I visited Tokyo in December, my neice Laurie took Will and I to the famous Senso-ji Temple in Tokyo, where I received a "good fortune" that read:

* Your wishes will be realized. * A sick person will recover. * The lost article will be found * The person you are waiting for will come. * Building a new house and removal are good. * Making a trip is good. * Marriage and employment are all good.*

Here's a shot of my niece Laurie, my son Will and I at the temple:

On the next leg of our journey, we spent New Year's Eve in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where the tradition involves launching a lantern into the night sky, apparently to usher out the demons and welcome in good luck for the coming year. Here's a pic of Andy and Will launching their lantern -

I've also been receiving lots of religious "talismans" from people in my life who want to provide positive affirmations for the surgery on Monday. Here's a photo of my collection, which includes:

- Lucky Buddha necklace given to me by my son Will in Thailand
- Guardian angel bracelet
- Catholic mass cards featuring St. Theresa and Guardian Angel
- Gold angel pin
- Lucky talisman from Senso-ji Temple in Tokyo signifying "one wish"
- St. Anthony and St. William medallions that my sons wore when playing sports

And last but not least, on New Year's Day in Chiang Mai, Thailand I received a woven bracelet from a Buddhist monk who gave me a special blessing for the year, with the promise that if I wore it for 365 days I would live to be 100 years old! (Of course I still have it on but it's looking a bit worse for wear.)

I'm not normally a superstitious person, but with all these things coming my way, there must be some message from the universe for me. So, I'm going to ask the surgeon if I can put all my "lucky" items in a Ziploc bag and take them into the surgery with me. What the heck, it can't hurt.

Add to that ALL the well wishes, prayers, thoughts and positive vibes that my friends and family are throwing my way, and I think I'm in pretty good shape for Monday!