I saw Sir Ompong’s post yesterday about Feng Shui Being the Oldest Hoax in the History and thought about why I half believe these things knowing that these beliefs could just really be hoax.
I was raised by a half-Chinese mother who got all her beliefs from her Chinese father – my grandfather that I only saw on a faded sepia photo. (Don’t look at my gravatar photo now. You won’t see any Chinese trace).
Though we weren’t that much into Feng Shui, we firmly believe in Chinese Zodiac.
You were born in the year of the Wooden Ox so you are bound to work hard all your life.
You are not lucky during the years of the Horse and the Dragon. It was the year of the horse when you got your big scar on your thigh. Now you cannot be a model anymore. What a waste of your long legs. – And I’m like, Ma, seriously?

Ok. I firmly believed in these things too, earlier, that I always looked for my readings/horoscope however you may call them whenever the new year approaches. Sometimes the readings come true, sometimes not.
A decade ago, I’ve read Terry Goodkind’s Wizard’s First Rule. Not that I found it interesting, but I forced myself to read it because I cannot relate to what my friends were talking about during our late night group text chats. Not that I don’t like the author nor the book, I’m just not into this genre.
So after reading an almost never ending book, I finally came to a conclusion that I will not read something like this again. A book, that when I finally reach the last page, I can’t remember what happened on the first chapter. LOL.
Honestly, I can’t remember what happened in the book. I can’t even remember any of the characters. But I remember one line clearly. People are stupid.
“People are stupid; given proper motivation, almost anyone will believe almost anything. Because people are stupid, they will believe a lie because they want to believe it’s true, or because they are afraid it might be true. People’s heads are full of knowledge, facts, and beliefs, and most of it is false, yet they think it all true. People are stupid; they can only rarely tell the difference between a lie and the truth, and yet they are confident they can, and so are all the easier to fool.”
― Terry Goodkind, Wizard’s First Rule
I believed in Chinese Zodiacs and the likes when I was younger not because I thought there was some truth to it but because that’s what I was taught to believe in and that’s the only truth that I thought there was. But as I grew older (and maybe wiser LOL) I realized that things happen, because they happen. Not because it’s your lucky or unlucky year. Not because you are born on this or that sign, not because you did not put a frog with a gold plated coin on your door or a porcelain cat that continuously waves its right hand.
I guess, human beings always try to rely on to something. Something that they want to believe in. Something that they can desperately hold on to, something they could applaud for bringing them luck in life or something they could blame when they lose in life’s battles, regardless of how true or untrue these beliefs are.
Sometimes they believe because they thought they knew what they believe in, sometimes because they don’t know what exactly to believe in.
I guess, that’s just how (some) human beings are.
wisely said… 🙂
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thanks Sir. Your post triggered my braincells ha ha
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Its fun reading it! Nice post! 🙂
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hey thanks he he
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A belief in something, weather it be the zodiac, Buda, God, a higher being is the force that keep people going. It is something to hold on to when times are bad or good for that matter. It’s called freedom.
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Yes. Just a matter of how we look into it 🙂
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Nagbabasa prin ako ng horoscope ko haha. I think nakasanayan nlang talaga 🙂
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well ako din ha ha ha…though hindi na ko ganong masyado naniniwala sa iba…minsan pinagtatawanan ko na lang pero minsan parang nagkakatotoo pa din ha ha
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hahaha, correct.
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You will identify with Amy Tan, I can be sure of that! Have you read The Joy Luck Club and four other novels that followed it?
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I have read the Joy Luck Club but not the others he he…but I think I need to read it once more
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Omg Richard Rahl! There was a time that anything Terry Goodkind wrote I would be reading that ish. Then Terry went on an all Objectivist/Libertarian rant and got batshit cray cray. Still liked the series though.
And yeah, people believe what they want to believe.
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ha ha ha…whatevs about Terry’s books. I never even looked at one after The Wizard’s First Rule. It was a pain. A bloody one LOL
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malay mo lahat lang ng bagay na nakikita natin ay hindi pala totoo… parang sa ‘inception’ lang.
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ha ha ha. who knows?
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parang yung idea na paano kung yung mga baliw ang mga nasa totoong mundo tapos tayo pala yung hindi 😀
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ha ha ha. eh pano nga kaya?
mas magulo pa kung isasali mo dito yung idea na may ibang aysabaw at ibang keso sa ibang dimension? at kung nagboblog din kaya sila? o may blog kaya don? ha ha
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maraming tanong walang sagot
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meron yan, di pa lang natin alam LOL
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Sabi sa horoscope mo ngayon, pupunta ka ng pantry at kakain. Kung hindi, edi hindi 🙂 hihi!
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sabi nga sa horoscope ko, initin ko na yung pagkain ko. sabi din na tigil-tigilan ko ang kakapetix ko bago pa ako mahuli ng boss ko ha ha
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aray! sapul! di ako nakailag! LOL
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Hahaha…parehas ata tayo ng ginagawa sa office today lol
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Well written, interesting, and so true. People cling to things in hopes of lucky. Never considering that study and hard work and perseverence can deliver luck as well.
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Thanks…..yeah we should not rely on solely on luck 🙂
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Sweat and determination has been the only lucky I have had in life. Really good post.
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Same here.
Thanks 🙂
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To be lost in a world full of unknown is quite scary. So, yes we human beings need something to believe or hold on to. I don’t find it stupid in a sense that maybe this is (horoscope/chinese zodiac) the only hope some people have in them. 🙂
Pero hindi rin ako mahilig tumingin sa horoscope, but i have read some. Mostly when the Chinese new year is near. Nakakatuwa rin kasi lalo na kapag positive yung mga nakasulat pampa good vibes. 🙂
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Bwahahha well….ang mahirap ay yung paniwalaan lang nila ang gusto nila regardless kung may basis or wala. And to just keep believing at wala naman silang ginagawa para ayusin ang mga buhay nila eh that makes them stupid I suppose.
Aba tiningnan ko na nga din kung ano ang fortune ng year of the Ox this year ah haha
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Agree naman ako dun. Kung patamad tamad wala talaga kahit gano pa kaganda ang sinasabi ng mga bituin nila. hahaha
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ha ha ha yun tayo eh
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Very timely ngayong mag cha Chinese New Year na. Hahah I don’t know but I guess we called this before as Resonance.
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ha ha ha….anong resonance yan 😛
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haha yung naghahanap lang ng rason para maging rational ung paniniwalang wala namang sapat na basehan. hahah
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bwahahahahahahahah ayus sa paliwanagers ha yan ba yun? LOL
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hahah oo yun na ata yun eh! 😀 😀
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