Lucky.

Being lucky is something I have thought about a lot lately.

Am I lucky, or do things happen in my life that are lucky?

There is no doubt that I am fortunate. Things happen to me, either through my own hard work or otherwise, and they are good things, positive things and LUCKY things.

I am a pretty positive person, I recognise when good things happen and I am pretty pragmatic when not so good thing happen. When the not so good things happen I rarely deem myself to be unlucky. But is this because nothing too terrible has happened to me?

I remember seeing someone in Instagram saying they were lucky because their children were healthy and happy, and another mother replied that her daughter wasn’t healthy - she had an array of physical and developmental disabilities, and she felt lucky that she had a daughter.

Health is something we all take for granted when we are in good health. when parents are expecting we have all heard the phrase “I don’t care if the baby is a boy or girl, as long as it’s healthy” said. Is having good health lucky?

I have also heard (and said) “as long we they are happy…” Is happiness luck? Is it a state of mind? Is it a choice?

We can all look at another persons life and claim they are lucky, or unlucky. We can feel this sense of ‘the grass is always greener on the other side’. Sometimes we are so focused on the apparent luck of someone else, we miss our own luck.

I am lucky I live in a country where we have a free national health system for all (paid by national insurance contributions). But am I lucky that the country I live in has the highest rates of death from COVID19 in Europe?

I am lucky that I have been useful in what I can offer from my business. But am I lucky that I have been so busy I have had to neglect my family a bit? Is it lucky for ME that so many people need support with their mental health?

In order to give the high standard of support I give, I have worked hard and for years honing my skills. I have studied and grafted. Is that all luck? Is the fact I live in a country where as a woman I am allowed and encouraged to use education lucky? What about the fact I live in a country where everyday sexism is rife, is that unlucky? or am I lucky that I live in a country where gang rape is rare?

I am lucky none both my parents are alive and well. But am I unlucky that they split up when I was 18, which caused a lot of pain and emotional discomfort? Am I lucky it happened because it taught me so much about myself and in a way brought me closer to them individually?

I am lucky I have children. But am I unlucky that I have no free childcare options so won’t be able to work a “normal” 9-5 job until (ironically) I have the money for childcare? Some people would not think it lucky to have children at all!

I have come to conclusion, luck is subjective. And it all hinges on how we feel inside to begin with. It’s an attribution we give meaning to events. It’s a state of mind. if we look for the good in things, then we will see that we are very lucky - focusing on those good things opens our minds up to the possibility of SEEING more good things as they come our way.

I have spoken with women who have been through huge traumas in their lives, who have battled again and again awful events, and I know they would all say they are lucky in some aspects of their lives.

What about you, are you lucky? Do you feel lucky? Do you believe in luck?