The Power of Beliefs

I know some ladies who are 100% convinced that if you touch water after ironing, the consequences can be severe. They know that touching water with the heat absorbed into their hands from ironing can make them ill, perhaps seriously so.

These individuals, the ones I have met, often must do ironing as part of their jobs. They carefully plan when they do their ironing; they leave it for the last part of the day, avoiding any contact with water until the next day. Some of these people believe that opening the refrigerator after ironing can be just as bad as touching water; they plan accordingly. If you ask them if this planning is really necessary, they can tell you several examples of people who inadvertently touched water after ironing, and got sick as a result.

The memory of these ladies came to mind today as I did a bit of ironing of my own. Even though I've heard stories about how dangerous it is to touch water after ironing, I'm not convinced. I ironed a bit in the morning, and then another bit in the afternoon, and I took a shower that evening. I was not aware of any heat lingering in my body, although I didn't really iron that many items.

I know some other people, fewer in number, who believe that life is relatively uncomplicated and that everything usually turns out for the best. They believe that if you work hard, you get ahead. And for their lives seem to prove they are correct in their thinking.

I have heard that life pretty much turns out the way you expect it to. I have also heard that life is full of surprises. I think both paradigms are correct.