Placebo

Before you even say anything - yes, I am being a tad hypocritical with this simultaneous posts. In my defense, this is the first time my schedule has allowed me to think this week, and everything I'm talking stems from today or yesterday.

I wear a cross necklace every day. It's a rather simple cross, carved from some sort of wood by a man in Honduras. It was a gift from my grandpa, who went there doing mission work. My sister and all of my cousins on my mom's side have one, but I am the only one who consistently wears it. I wear it not to mark me as a Christian but to help me remember that I am one and act like one (something I don't always do). The ELCA Lutheran way is to love everyone, and in weeks such as this one I can become significantly less than loving.
Anywho, I hadn't worn said cross for about 2 weeks because the cord had come apart and was unusable. I hadn't asked my mom to fix it because she has been nearly as busy as I have, and hadn't done it myself because I'm afraid to dig in mom's bottomless room of crafting materials looking for one little piece of string. During the entirety of this state of limbo, I felt as if something was missing. I don't know what that thing was, but it set me on edge. Last night, I arrived home at 10:37 at night after a preview show to find that my necklace had been fixed. I put it on, of course, and immediately felt a sense of calm wash over me. I felt more like myself again, and as if I was back in control of my life. I have no idea how a little piece of wood can do something like that, but it certainly did last night (don't you DARE go there).
From my own experiences, I've found that simple faith in something can be one of the most powerful forces known to man. Religion is the largest and most obvious of these, being entirely based on faith - even taking the name of "faith" in some cases. I hold a lot of faith in my religious beliefs, which influences all aspects of my life to some extent. I hadn't ever really held any large belief involving my cross, but it certainly seems to make me feel better when I wear it. What is this feeling? It could be God reaching out, but it could just as easily be a placebo. This simple feeling translates into religion as a whole. Certain feelings felt attributed as the Holy Spirit moving in people could just as likely be a placebo, and vise versa. This, of course, is much more serious than my little cross issue, but it's something to ponder nonetheless.
What did I feel? I couldn't tell ya. But if you have any similar experiences with this sort of feeling (whether they be religious-based or not) I invite you to share them. Give your opinion on the matter if you like. We could all use this to develop a broadened understanding on this issue.