Holy Hell, Suspeckted wrote an article!
Sanity Maintenance
from 
JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
It is the simple joys in life that get many of us through our rough days, rough weeks, or rough lives altogether. Funny how the many activities we do to stay sane often appear so trivial or mundane, but when done for our amusement, can be so refreshing. I have acquired many of such activities that all follow a similar theme in the way they have made it into my repertoire of sanity maintenance.
I should begin with a disclaimer before I describe this activity (just as I suppose I should start with a disclaimer before I try to communicate in any fashion whatsoever). I feel there is a possibility that what I’m about to share may end the activity altogether. It is because what I wish to explore with you in the first installment offering a peak into the window of my self-induced quirkiness (just as all over quirks go) is my 4-leaf clover phenomenon.
I’m not exactly sure when it began, or perhaps more importantly, why or how it began, but for a number of years now I have been blessed with a gift of finding a large amount of these naturally occurring, superstitiously good luck tokens. It is my fear that by sharing this information with so many people (I think 4-5 people will read this, counting myself for proofreading) I may lose this apparent gift. Time will tell.
I suppose a “large amount” should be defined. Last summer alone I found over 100 4-leaf clovers near a home I lived in during my internship near Washington DC. I gave many of them away to my fellow interns and staff, but for the most part I continued to tape them to a piece of printer paper which I rapidly filled up on both sides. This particular piece of paper is no longer in my possession, for as in the process of collecting, I have gone to some length to distribute the bounty of this gift to anyone whom I thought would appreciate such a gesture. A particular woman who has been a smile on my face this year received said sheet during her finals week at school in hopes that they would offer her some good luck during a stressful time, and, let’s face it, insure the potential of getting some action. Both of these objectives, I’m happy to report, were successful.
Anyway, back to the 4-leaf clover phenomenon…I’ve come to accept that there is something metaphoric about locating 4-leaf clovers. Some have suggested to me that the luck is in finding them at all, implying, I suppose, that one should not expect luck to follow locating one. I however, have decided something different. Luck aside, I’ve come to believe that many things will only exist for those who believe they will find them. Many think that the illusive 4-leaf clover is a myth and therefore spend no time looking at the ground as they walk through the grass in hopes of finding one. Or perhaps they even couldn’t care less if they did. I think this may play out in many other ways. If you don’t ever expect to find something you’re hoping for, chances are when it’s right under your nose (or foot in this case) you won’t be able to see it at all.
Becoming a 4-leaf clover collector of sorts may be a bit eccentric, but it is not for eccentric quality alone that I continue to embrace it. I know I’m also not the only one who can find them in such mass amounts as I’ve witnessed this quality in my little sister as well. (Hmm…maybe it’s in the blood) It is probably metaphoric as well that I spend a lot of time looking right at the ground inches in front of me without paying much attention to what may lie further ahead. Perhaps one day I’ll walk right off a cliff or into busy traffic during these pursuits. But it’s in these pursuits that I am able to clear my head and focus on something that, for the process at least, I do just for me.
Being able to spot them in busy fields of crab grass, dandelions, and millions of 3-leaf clovers is not easy, and that’s kind of the point. But it’s gone so far that if I think I see one I have to stop and go in for a closer inspection for fear that if I pass one up that has been placed in my path I may never see another one again.
Though it is almost as cliché as a butterfly tattoo, I am definitely considering a small 4-leafed tattoo somewhere on this body of mine, and despite my supposed Irish roots, heredity will likely have little to do with the decision to do so.
Good luck at finding good luck.
I should begin with a disclaimer before I describe this activity (just as I suppose I should start with a disclaimer before I try to communicate in any fashion whatsoever). I feel there is a possibility that what I’m about to share may end the activity altogether. It is because what I wish to explore with you in the first installment offering a peak into the window of my self-induced quirkiness (just as all over quirks go) is my 4-leaf clover phenomenon.
I’m not exactly sure when it began, or perhaps more importantly, why or how it began, but for a number of years now I have been blessed with a gift of finding a large amount of these naturally occurring, superstitiously good luck tokens. It is my fear that by sharing this information with so many people (I think 4-5 people will read this, counting myself for proofreading) I may lose this apparent gift. Time will tell.
I suppose a “large amount” should be defined. Last summer alone I found over 100 4-leaf clovers near a home I lived in during my internship near Washington DC. I gave many of them away to my fellow interns and staff, but for the most part I continued to tape them to a piece of printer paper which I rapidly filled up on both sides. This particular piece of paper is no longer in my possession, for as in the process of collecting, I have gone to some length to distribute the bounty of this gift to anyone whom I thought would appreciate such a gesture. A particular woman who has been a smile on my face this year received said sheet during her finals week at school in hopes that they would offer her some good luck during a stressful time, and, let’s face it, insure the potential of getting some action. Both of these objectives, I’m happy to report, were successful.
Anyway, back to the 4-leaf clover phenomenon…I’ve come to accept that there is something metaphoric about locating 4-leaf clovers. Some have suggested to me that the luck is in finding them at all, implying, I suppose, that one should not expect luck to follow locating one. I however, have decided something different. Luck aside, I’ve come to believe that many things will only exist for those who believe they will find them. Many think that the illusive 4-leaf clover is a myth and therefore spend no time looking at the ground as they walk through the grass in hopes of finding one. Or perhaps they even couldn’t care less if they did. I think this may play out in many other ways. If you don’t ever expect to find something you’re hoping for, chances are when it’s right under your nose (or foot in this case) you won’t be able to see it at all.
Becoming a 4-leaf clover collector of sorts may be a bit eccentric, but it is not for eccentric quality alone that I continue to embrace it. I know I’m also not the only one who can find them in such mass amounts as I’ve witnessed this quality in my little sister as well. (Hmm…maybe it’s in the blood) It is probably metaphoric as well that I spend a lot of time looking right at the ground inches in front of me without paying much attention to what may lie further ahead. Perhaps one day I’ll walk right off a cliff or into busy traffic during these pursuits. But it’s in these pursuits that I am able to clear my head and focus on something that, for the process at least, I do just for me.
Being able to spot them in busy fields of crab grass, dandelions, and millions of 3-leaf clovers is not easy, and that’s kind of the point. But it’s gone so far that if I think I see one I have to stop and go in for a closer inspection for fear that if I pass one up that has been placed in my path I may never see another one again.
Though it is almost as cliché as a butterfly tattoo, I am definitely considering a small 4-leafed tattoo somewhere on this body of mine, and despite my supposed Irish roots, heredity will likely have little to do with the decision to do so.
Good luck at finding good luck.
