Is This What They Mean by “The Law of Attraction”?
Roaches. Why did it have to be roaches…?
I just finished reading “The Key,” a book by Joe Vitale on “the Law of Attraction.” For those of you unfamiliar with the Law of Attraction, made popular in books such as “The Secret,” “The Attraction Factor,” and the on-point-ly titled, “The Law of Attraction,” the Law of Attraction simply states that you attract into your life whatever you focus on the most.
I am on the fence about the Law. On one hand, I have seen some evidence of it in action. On the other hand, I have a large left-brained and analytical background, so I am also skeptical. I have read quite a few books on it, and from time to time try to apply it. Yes, I realize that to really make it work you need to do it daily, but if we all did what we knew was best we would have no poverty, obesity, or violence, now would we? 🙂
When in doubt, I go with the choice that has the biggest positive outcome, regardless of validity. If I act like the Law of Attraction is real and it’s not, then the worst thing that happens is that I spend my time focusing on positive outcomes. Being positive and happy, even if never manifests more than a jelly donut, is still a good thing.
Or so you might think…
I am currently using my NetFlix membership to re-watch the entire run of the X-Files (what a great show!). Two days ago, I saw the episode, “War of the Coprophages.” This entire episode is about a small town where roaches – yes, roaches – attack the local populace. To death. I can only imagine that on the scale of ways to go, “death by roach attack” is pretty high on the awful scale, a bit worse than “death by drowning in a vat of sausage gravy” and a bit better than “death by exposure to Yakoff Smirnoff jokes.”
Now I have cockroaches on the brain. Think back to the Law of Attraction. What we focus on, we attract into our lives…
The next day, I am sitting at my desk, typing away, when I feel a little tickle on my arm. I innocently look down, and I SEE A COCKROACH ON MY ARM! And not one of those little suckers – this is a giant cockroach, easily three inches long! I flip out and shriek like a little girl, knock it off my arm, and go scrambling for a paper towel. In this time, the roach disappears under my couch. The next three hours of my life play out like a bad slasher movie. Every time I feel an itch or a tickle, or hear an unfamiliar sound, I envision myself starting to investigate only to get jumped on by a giant roach just as I turn the corner. Eventually, one of those times I heard a sound it actually was the invader, and I managed to dispatch of him before he could get away.
The weird thing is that I don’t have a roach problem. This is the first roach I have ever seen in this place, and I have been here almost five years now. Somehow, within 24 hours of watching an X-Files episode devoted to roaches, one ends up not only in my place but on my arm.
Law of Attraction or crazy coincidence? Decide for yourself.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go focus on beautiful women and untold riches. Or maybe just on the Orkin man.