I happened to be walking around yesterday and I saw someone obviously in a bit of distress clutching the cross around their neck, now, after being in a convent for 8 years, the cross is a very strong symbol for me even though I am now muslim and I started thinking about what it actually means to me.
What I came to realise is that the cross, the star and moon, the Jewish star, the pentacle, the turban, the yamacula, the numbers '666' '786' etc etc, all have something in common - they're all symbols of something.
Ok, so I realise that that sentence seems rather obvious, but actually it's not. How many times has someone actually asked to have their licence plate changed because it was '666' and they didnt want to have any bad luck? How many arguments have started (and never actually finished) because someone said they couldnt have or they had to have the Jewish star/pentacle/cross in a certain place or that the number has special powers?
I know plenty of people that say that their symbol has magical powers and to be honest, if that works for them, then great. My personal feeling though is that it's not the symbol that has the power, it's the person. They are the source of the magic or the miracle. It's their belief that something is going to work that makes it happen. Unfortunately, they dont want to see that it was actually their doing. They would rather believe that it was something outside of them, something external that caused something amazing.
Why dont they want to believe that it was them? Firstly I think it's easier to invest and focus all of our energies in something other than ourselves because we have this belief that we are not more than what we are - extraordinary.
Also I think it's because of the innate fear of failure we all have. If they admit that it was due to them, it will be expected again and again and what happens if it doesnt happen again? Then they wont be able to 'blame' the symbol, fate, a higher power for the lack of a miracle, they will feel that it's their 'fault'... and for me, that is humanity's biggest failure - the need to blame.
If we didnt feel the need to blame, we wouldnt have revenge, war, hate, crime, self-loathing, prejudice... I can carry on and on.. but we are brought up that way - blaming, fingerpointing, hiding, avoiding responsibility.
How do we change this? I believe that even though there is already a lot of damage done in the world, each of us needs to start with ourselves and with our children.. everyone making a little change will change the world someday.
So back to the symbols. They don't have the power that we attribute them, but they do have the power to remind us who we are and what we're capable of, if we're strong enough to believe it.
