Last week Lisa and I went to a farmers market.

We came across a couple selling handmade copper jewelry. I noticed a very handsome hammered mens ring. I liked it very much. And it fit perfectly on the one finger that feels inexplicably stiff lately.

They both wore copper jewelry because, they insisted, it cured them of arthritis pain and immobility. I told them about my finger. They said I should wear the ring and within a day the stiffness would go away.

It hasn’t.

Why am I sometimes a sucker for such things?

I have a friend in the medical field who believes none of that stuff at all. To him, anything that isn’t traditional medicine is snake oil. He never falls for that stuff. If someone says it works it’s the placebo effect. He was raised in a medical family.

I was raised to believe in the supernatural, some magic, and conspiracies.

I remember as a child reading “Chariots of the Gods” about all the unsolved mysteries of the world and how ancient astronauts were involved. I also remember demons and exorcisms and angels and the claims of miracles, none of which I ever witnessed but somehow still interested me.

A few years ago I helped my son set up his booth for his coaching business at a Wellness Expo. We were surrounded by wands, crystals, palm readers, animal whisperers, witches, secret ingredients, seances and all kinds of magical stuff. Although I don’t subscribe to any of it, I still felt like I was strangely among friends.

Inexplicable things have happened in my life. Lots of them. When I tell these stories, some nod their heads knowingly, while others rationalize them away.

So I just accept myself for who I am… a unique mixture of rational and non-rational. And I’m okay with that.

How about you?