Lucky Charms
The Grasshopper emerged from a pile of 4 leaf clovers and came up with this bon mot about 5 years ago:
“Luck is the short end of statistical probability.”
I personally don’t have luck as far down on the dependency totem pole as “hope,” but it’s in the same neighborhood. (see March 12th blog)
We’ve heard all the motivating quotes about luck – from rabbit’s feet to getting sweaty – but none of them are worth betting on.
Luck seems to be the filtered piece of reality that we agree with – unless it’s bad luck.
Luck happens!
In the gambling world of statistical probability, it can be measured. You can tell approximately when it’s going to happen, but not to whom.
Yet, we seem to know people who are luckier than others – consistently. There is a common thread. These folks seem to have a lucky charm. It’s their attitudinal approach to life. We can verify this for ourselves by proving the negative. Look at all the consistently unlucky people you know. There is a thread, isn’t there? It’s their attitude – their angle of approach.
It seems they lack gratitude and are focused on doomsday – which is always right around the corner. That’s like sitting in a movie being unhappy that it’s going to end in an hour and 15 minutes. Participate in the scene that’s on the screen – now – and leave the happy or sad ending where it belongs – in the future.
Reminds me of a story . . . I like scrimshaw. I doubt that I’d ever develop the patience or expertise to do it but I appreciate it. I have some personal scrimshaw treasures that were designed for me and given to me as gifts. I have a pair of cufflinks that feature bonsai trees in the scrimshawed drawing. I also have a set of yin and yang scrimshaw cufflinks. I rarely wear cufflinks anymore but they bring me joy when I look at them. I took up golf 5 ½ years ago, and if you play golf you can personally attest to the unpredictability of your luck on the links. In golf, players use ball markers once they reach the putting surface. Many people use a coin. It’s quite functional to mark the spot where your ball is on the green and pick it up and clean it before placing it back down by the marker and then attempting your putt. I had the same fellow who designed my cufflinks design a scrimshaw ball marker for me about the size of a quarter. I had him carve the Chinese character for the Tao in the middle and also inscribe the words, “This too shall pass.”
This marker is my lucky charm. No, it doesn’t make me play golf any better, but it certainly focuses me on an angle of approach. We all get sidetracked by the little leprechaun in our head from time to time and our lucky charm is the awareness and attitude that brings us back to the present moment – what’s happening now – not 10 minutes or 10 years ago but right now. Not what’s going to happen in the future but what’s happening right now.
Lucky people recognize reality and have the attitudinal approach that the people in Florida have about the thunderstorms – Hang around 10 minutes and it will change. Lucky people know that they will have upsides and downsides and that each will pass. It’s this lucky charm of knowing that allows them the freedom to celebrate and be grateful for their luck whenever it shows up.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
John
http://cdbaby.com/cd/johnmorgan
http://www.cafepress.com/grasshoppernote/3580301
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