Monday, April 21, 2008

Luck

"Luck is a chance happening, or that which happens beyond a person's control. Luck can be good or bad" (Wikipedia)

I have been thinking a lot about luck lately. See I was amazingly lucky enough to win this from Orange You Lucky’s blog among other things lately. (and holy man do I love it)

My mom has always been a lucky person. She constantly was getting calls that she won the gift basket, the pack of tickets, a year’s supply of animal cookies. She would buy a purse or a jacket at the flea market and find $5 in it. It was really endless her winnings.

A sweet aunt of mine, was the type of person who would find money everywhere. A walk around the city with her would easily produce a few dollars in change- and we weren’t even looking for it!

So did I get the lucky gene? I have always thought that it must have passed me by. I mean I have had my fair share of awful circumstances to hideous to even list to you here.

But last year I looked up luck on google and I kept coming across descriptions such as this:

"One way is to be open to new experiences. Unlucky people are stuck in routines. When they see something new, they want no part of it. Lucky people always want something new. They're prepared to take risks and relaxed enough to see the opportunities in the first place." (this site is the reference, Flip Top Head?)

Was I stuck in a routine? Awful! But then I thought more about it and yes, I was stuck in a routine. I got up, got ready, went to work, then the gym maybe or the grocery store and then back home. And nothing lucky ever happened to me.

I think luck is two fold- part kharma, part your own making. If I don’t make an opportunity for kharma to give a little luck to me then it doesn’t happen. I am not going to suddenly get a call saying I won a million bucks or that I win a seasons worth of tickets to the Red Sox. (unless I believe all those junk emails I get)

Makes sense that my mom is constantly signing up for raffles, and giveaways. She never once passed by a Boy Scout selling raffle tickets without buying one.

So lately, I have been signing up for every darn thing that comes my way. And you know what? It is working.

So what about you? Are you lucky or not lucky? Got any great lucky stories to share? I’d love to hear.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

"If I don’t make an opportunity for kharma to give a little luck to me then it doesn’t happen."

I couldn't agree with you more. I try very hard to take chances and go outside my comfort zone for that very reason. Nothing's going to happen to me while I'm sitting on the couch in my PJs eating bonbons!

You also can't be afraid to fail, because then you'll never bother taking a risk in the first place.

Great post!

Kathi D said...

I think lucky or not lucky is a state of mind, maybe sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Your mother feels lucky and has the reputation of being lucky, and so she signs up for everything expecting to win. She probably loses more than she wins, but her focus is on the winning.

I expect people to be friendly and kind wherever I go, and I am most always "lucky" that they are. Maybe I just ignore or overlook the ones that aren't? Or maybe because I expect them to be nice I approach them in that way?

I don't believe in treasure falling from the sky because I wish for it, but I do believe that you can be content with what you have (unless you lack the basic necessities of life, of course). I had a happy and near-perfect childhood, and it wasn't because of money, because we didn't have any. We were able to make our own fun with each other. It was a good lesson for life.

Alison said...

"If I don’t make an opportunity for kharma to give a little luck to me then it doesn’t happen."

The best part of that sentence is the "I." I think it is easy for people to fall into the victim role, where they expect that everything should just go right...just because. Well of course life isn't just going to go right. I believe people need to put their best foot forward, go for the opportunities, toss the fear, embrace the faith and excitement, and appreciate what comes along.

One of my favorite authors is Paulo Coelho, who said, ""You have to take risks, he said. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen. Every day, God gives us the sun--and also one moment in which we have the ability to change everything that makes us unhappy. Every day, we try to pretend that we haven't perceived that moment, that it doesn't exist--that today is the same as yesterday and will be the same as tomorrow. But if people really pay attention to their everyday lives, they will discover that magic moment. It may arrive in the instant when we are doing something mundane, like putting our front-door key in the lock; it may lie hidden in the quiet that follows the lunch hour or in the thousand and one things that all seem the same to us. But that moment exists--a moment when all the power of the stars becomes a part of us and enables us to perform miracles."
(By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept: A Novel of Forgiveness)

We have the ability to take risks, to create happiness, to appreciate what we have. When we do, I really believe that we become "lucky" and "the whole universe conspires so that your wish comes true." (another partial Paulo Coelho quote...appropriate context, of course.)

Anyway, those are my seven cents. Too long of a comment to be just two cents. ;)

Jessica said...

This is my favorite lucky story.

The year I met my husband I found a wedding band. It was Valentine's Day, late, and rainy. I'm still surprised I spotted it on the pavement. It would be another nine years before we married but that's the ring he wears today.