Good Luck!

The new year is upon us, and for all us triskaidekaphobes and generally superstitious people it is a time of trepidation. We dodged the Mayan Apocalypse only to be cast into a year ending with the dreaded number thirteen. We must counteract this. We must strive to get lucky. (Not necessarily in the carnal sense.)

Not my office, but it would certainly be nice

Take steps! Attract good luck to yourself! The Chinese know all about how this is done. For example, in my (admittedly shallow) studies of Feng Shui I found that my little home office occupies the wealth area of our house. What this means is that I have to clean and organize my office before I can make a dime this year. I was going to show you a picture of what it looks like now, but I would have to kill myself for shame. It's that bad. So I'll clean my office and Feng Shui the daylights out of it. Plants that simulate mountains. Crystals that concentrate good energy. When it's nice again I'll post a picture.

When one does this, when one clears out the bad energy in one's wealth area, the Chinese say, the money comes rolling in. That would be nice. Of course the whole Feng Shui thing is an alien concept to my particular ethnic group, Anglo-Canadian-Wasp-Irish. My own family was as superstitious as any Asian, but they lived by different superstitions. Never put a hat on the bed. When you take off your shoes, put them together the right way 'round, right shoe on the right side, left shoe on the left. Otherwise all your luck will walk away from you. If a picture falls off the wall someone will die. If you spill salt, throw a bit over your left shoulder or you'll have a fight with a friend. Never work on your clothes while you're wearing them. Sew your clothes upon your back, poverty you'll never lack, goes the rhyme.

Actually that one is not so different from the stricture to keep your office neat and carefully-ordered. It's all about work habits. Good work habits make good luck. So keep the hat off the bed, folks, and put your shoulder to the wheel and your nose to the grindstone. May 2013 be the best year yet for all of us.

Kate Gallison