When I was a young boy, my parents made me wear an amulet (a flat silver image of the Virgin Mary, on a silver chain around my neck. To protect me from harm (1).
That suddenly popped into my mind when I saw this young man sitting on a bench, wearing not 1, not 2 but not less then 3 amulets, to protect him from harm. It is a widespread custom here in Thailand, although I have the impression that the city-people don't show it so openly as this young man.
It's a moving thought, that wearing an amulet can indeed protect you, that the spiritual world is stronger then the material world. And it's a self-fulfilling prophecy: if indeed no harm comes to you, then you're convinced that the amulet keeps you on the good side; if however you suffer from a bad happening, you'll be convinced: 4 is better then 3!
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(1) that was long before AIDS was known, and when most people hadn't heard of condoms, although those "modern" form of protection existed already centuries ago: Casanova used condoms already, made from animal intestins! And if you find that idea ridiculous, ask yourself where the violins get their strings from :-)
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