A huge part of Filipino culture centers around their superstitious beliefs. Although my family itself did not pay much attention to these "explanations", growing up around Espie and Rosal* pretty much guaranteed all sorts of crazy ideas, stories, signs, omens, and whatever it was they told themselves to justify strange or eerie occurrences.
After doing some research (read: internet browsing), I found that not just Filipinos, but most Asian cultures believe the black butterfly or moth to be the reincarnation of a spirit that has come to visit. European cultures seem to attach a more somber meaning to these creatures - as an omen of death.
I'm usually pretty level headed and don't try to attach so much meaning to the small stuff; probably because at some point I'd wonder "where does it all end?" You also don't want the corner taco stand to have some intricate meaning of what's to come of your life (unless you eat there every day - you can probably take that as a sign that you'll gain 5 kilos soon!)
Anyway, so why I am writing about Filipino superstition all of a sudden?
June 7th was the two year anniversary of my father's passing. As I fumbled for my keys to the front door that day, this was there:
To be honest, my heart did skip a beat when I saw it and images of yaya flooded my head. It's still hanging around for some reason, but I'm taking it lightly. If I'm going to be superstitious, I might as well see the good instead of bad, right?
When I left the house today I said "see ya later pappi" ;)
*Espie and Rosal are part of our family. Espie took care of my brother and I growing up and Rosal has been the best cook for the last 30 years*
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