Luckiness in our overall perspective…

I wonder whether most people think of themselves as lucky. There are times when I’d like things to be just a little different, but overall I struggle to find occasions when things didn’t work out well for me. But I know of many friends who don’t seem to look at themselves as particularly lucky. I wonder whether most people consider themselves lucky, and how that affects the way they live…

I have friends who have lived through awful circumstances. The girl who, in every relationship, gets cheated on in unpredictable & heinous ways. The friend with multiple advanced degrees who is continually pushed away from her life mission by being passed over by medical schools. Or, much worse, the friend who at 23 has been through the death of her two most serious boyfriends.

Perhaps one could respond that these people are not the ones who are truly suffering, and that they’re generally lucky to have certain privileges and all of their basic needs met. But I’m not looking to debate the priorities or definition of “luck” for people who are well-off, just to question how life treats people, regardless of their frame of reference.

My luckiness has led me to be more confident, to take risks, and to have an optimistic personality. While I put hard work into things, I’ve been very lucky overall. I found my house the first week I was looking. I’ve never been particularly hurt in a relationship. I’ve never been in a car accident or suffered a major injury. None of my immediate family has ever been through a trauma or serious illness. Or more incidentally, I found a perfect house the first week I looked and bought it for under the purchase price. But more than all these examples, things just seem to work out for me. And it plays a huge role in the way I live.

One exception to this is a person who left my life this year. It’s a story that merits an explanation longer and more personal than this blog, but the gist of it is that someone is no longer in my life…but without any reason. I consider that to be an instance of bad luck, and I use the term “luck” because I couldn’t have done anything to prevent this. But it’s left a wound that affects the way I trust others and with whom I surround myself. Quite honestly, I don’t think anything positive has come from the experience.

I’m reflecting on the latter experience because when circumstances went against my favor it had a conspicuously negative impact on my perspective. When others have similar bad luck I can only imagine that it would have similarly far-reaching and perhaps deleterious consequences.

So I wonder whether people think of themselves as lucky and how it plays a role in their daily lives and longterm vision. I can only hope for myself and my readers that luck will continue to be favorable, but some things just can’t be foreseen…

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Published:
5.20.06 / 12am
Category:
Best Of, Reflections
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