good omen

Today, I almost ran-over a rat in the highway. I did not kill it. But I thought of Omens suddenly. Well, we only have a 6 -lane highway here but for a smart rat, it should not be crossing over in a highway at 7:00 where everyone is in a hurry. I bet this rat had some dose of pesticide so it got lost in the middle of the highway.

From Paulo Coelho's book, "The Alchemist" he mentioned that butterflies, crickets, lizards, grasshoppers, four-leaf clovers are signs of good omen. The butterfly is my favorite because lots of them do come to my garden. There are times when, one or two would suddenly appear from nowhere and touch me. Another tale about it is that, butterflies have the spirits of our dead that came to visit you. Not bad. So even though it is so "one-way" of communication, it helps the living feel lighter.

The crickets, hmmmm I like listening to them. If they are noisy they drive away the negative energies or bad spirits around. So when I was young in the island, I love listening to them at night. It tells me that it is "safe to sleep now".

And the lizards, I do not know why they give good omen, but when a lizard drops at a person, they say something good will happen. But because I detest the surprise drops and it' s reptile coldness, I often drastically throw them off. That makes me drive-away the good omen! grrrhhh.

The four-leaf clover they say is hard to find, so when one finds it, there must be some luck. I believe in some plants having some positive force or energy so I believe in this. When I was young, me and my friends would sometimes play a game - Who would be the first to see a four- leaf clover? I cannot remember if I ever won.

In my five years of driving my vehicle, I remembered running-over and killing a dog and a chicken. Ohhh sorry that I have to run away. When I ran-over the dog, it was an accident. I let the dog's masters cross the street and the dog suddenly followed them right at the moment I geared to start. And the chicken, I have to run away because the owners will ask far more than its actual cost. har har har

But today, it is the first time that I almost ran-over a rat. And I have to Google my omen for today. Here are some I got about rats.

a) In Hindu mythology, the elephant-headed god Ganesh is accompanied by a rat wherever he travels. An offering to Ganesh and his small companion and vahana the rat is therefore an important part of Hindu worship. Ganesh is the jolly elephant headed god whose origins are in the Hindu tradition, though he has been adopted into the pantheon of some Buddhist schools as well. Ganesh is the remover of obstacles and can bestow good fortune. In India, traditionally no important undertaking is begun without first invoking Ganesh to insure success. Ganesh as the god of Music and great catagorizer of all that can be counted or comprehended. If the gods created us in their image, then creation must be a holy act itself. It is believed in Hindu tradition that it is good to hold this remover of obstacles in mind when beginning to create that loveliest art form, music. Much good is thought to flow from this benevolent deity once he knows what his subject has in mind."

b) The Romans sometimes saw rats as omens as well. A white rat was considered by the Romans as auspicious. But a black rat has unfortunate significance. If you were Roman and found rats had gnawed your personal effects you should postpone any business you may have been considering.

c) According to Chinese legend, the twelve animals quarreled one day as to who was to head the cycle of years. The gods were asked to decide and they held a contest: whoever was to reach the opposite bank of the river would be first, and the rest of the animals would receive their years according to their finish. All the twelve animals gathered at the river bank and jumped in. Unknown to the ox, the rat had jumped upon his back. As the ox was about to jump ashore, the rat jumped off the ox's back, and won the race. The pig, who was very lazy, ended up last. That is why the rat is the first year of the animal cycle, the ox second, and the pig last.

d) In old Japan, rats had it good because a white rat was a messenger of one of the seven gods of luck, Daikoku. Because of this connection, they were not killed. The story goes that a rat couple wanted the strongest husband in the world for their daughter. They asked the sun who declined saying that clouds had more power because they could cover him up. When they asked a cloud, he responded, "The wind is stronger than I because it can blow me away." The wind could not make the grade either. "The wall stops me cold," he said. And the wall, though honored by the offer wailed, "The rat is stronger. He can bore a hole right through me." So the couple wisely gave their daughter in marriage to another rat who was indeed the strongest creature of them all.

Well, I think the rats' omen seems promising to me. So between sunrise and sundown today, I have to be intent on looking at what good the encounter with the rat is for me. So far today it is still 10:00 am and my cable has been disconnected. The day is not through yet. Let me see the result of not running-over the rat!