July 27th: God Bless You!

I'm not a very superstitious person, but there a two superstitions that I will forever maintain in my life:
1.  Knocking Wood so as not to jinx something.
2.  Saying "God Bless You" after someone sneezes.
Some might find these superstitions to be ridiculous, but I do these things out of tradition, not because I am afraid that I will jinx myself, or have people's souls go rushing out through their noses.  The former I do because it makes me happy.  And the latter I do because it is essentially a foolproof way to make others happy.

On the bus today, my nose tickled and sure enough I sneezed.  Normally, I wouldn't expect any response from this situation, but I was pleasantly surprised when the gentleman next to me raised his head from his newspaper, turned to me and uttered those soul-saving words "God Bless You!" I smiled, turned to him, nodded, and said "Thank you."  Then we both went back to minding our own business with these huge grins on our faces.

It was such a simple and beautiful moment of two complete strangers coming together to help each other out.  He 'saved my soul', I gave him the chance to be a hero.  Perhaps, I put too much emphasis on the blessing after the sneeze.  I've actually had the "Bless You" cause tension in a relationship before, when an old boyfriend of mine neglected to say it thereby prompting the gentleman behind me to say it instead. (I know there's a Seinfeld episode about this, but I actually lived the real thing.)  The fact of the matter is, it is a really nice feeling to have someone say those words to you - and everyone knows it.  In the situation of the relationship, right after the other guy jumped in, the ex knew that he missed his golden opportunity and immediately felt emasculated, and I immediately questioned just how much he cared when he was able to let a complete stranger beat him to the punch on such an obvious response.  I can't say that the relationship ended because of this situation, but I know that it didn't help.

So thank you to those who continue to share a blessing after a sneeze.  And for everyone else out there who still thinks it is ridiculous - I challenge you to be the hero after the next sneeze you hear, and tell me that it doesn't feel good when you see the smile on the person's face.  And if you happen to miss your golden opportunity with a significant other - don't say I didn't warn you!