A Cambodian Bind

Me and my friend were stranded in the woods of Wetar one day, waiting for help since our car had a flat tire but had no equipment to change it. There was nothing to do, too much has been said, and a nap is all that is left undone. So as I tried to daze off in the passengers seat, I looked up in to the trees and stroke the fresh cool air I saw my bracelet. Click!

This is my Cambodia bracelet. I got it when I was visited Angkor Wat last year. It was tied on to me by a holy man of the temple complex. It’s a bind of prayer after I got my fortuned told. There should be no worries in my fortune, he says, and his prayers were to assure that.

It’s not a Moslem teaching to believe in fortune telling especially from another religion but for some reason, I kept that bracelet on till today. I believed its prayer, a prayer that will help me into a good life.

But there was a time, exactly a year after this bracelet was bind on to me, I wanted to cut it off. I had a low point in my own believes and I though that getting rid of this item would further me of what I didn’t believe in, hoping it would make me closer to what I did believe in. I almost cut it off. But I didn’t.

I came back to the point where I believe all prayers are good, no matter what religion we’re from. I believe it as I believe that a good deed is a good deed no matter what who did it, from whatever religion, or from those with no religion also.  And a little red band would not define what I believe in.

Now, I keep the bracelet for 2 reasons: as a reminder that I’ve been to Angkor Wat, and as a reminder that I should not symbolize things in totems. Hmm a totem reminding of what totems should not be. Sounds pretty twisted hey?