How do you define lucky?

Snowflake · 08-22-2006, 12:28 PM

I was emailing with a friend this morning and we were talking about things, like the recent sale of my fantasy estate that I'd restore if I had won the powerball (sadly that will go under the wrecking ball soon). And she said to me, "Why aren't we lucky?"

And I was just thinking about that the other day. I am really, in fact, quite lucky, I think. I have a comfortable life, a decent wage, a really great cat, some very lovely friends, reasonably good health, and interests that I can and do enjoy which cost little financially and enrich me a great deal inside. I thought when she asked that question, well, is it luck? I don't know, but I do feel incredibly lucky.

DreadPirateRoberts · 08-22-2006, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snowflake

I was emailing with a friend this morning and we were talking about things, like the recent sale of my fantasy estate that I'd restore if I had won the powerball (sadly that will go under the wrecking ball soon). And she said to me, "Why aren't we lucky?"

And I was just thinking about that the other day. I am really, in fact, quite lucky, I think. I have a comfortable life, a decent wage, a really great cat, some very lovely friends, reasonably good health, and interests that I can and do enjoy which cost little financially and enrich me a great deal inside. I thought when she asked that question, well, is it luck? I don't know, but I do feel incredibly lucky.

The comfortable life, decent wage, great cat, etc aren't luck. Those are the fruits of your labors. I've seen what you are describing in the quote "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."

Winning the power ball is more random chance and is a different kind of "luck".

Eliza Hodgkins 1812 · 08-22-2006, 02:08 PM

Getting lucky.

Not Afraid · 08-22-2006, 02:46 PM

Lucky is when things just fall into place without you having a part in it. Lucky people aren't always happy and happy peole aren't always lucky. I'd choose happy over lucky - or maybe it's happy-go-lucky? (What does THAT mean, anyways?)

Capt Jack · 08-22-2006, 02:56 PM

I think theres a difference between 'being lucky' and 'a stroke of luck'.

'being lucky'
appreciation for ones own 'wealth of life'
finding what you yourself consider 'true love'
finding, getting and keeping a job you really enjoy doing

'stroke of luck'
lottery winner
missing a plane that crashes on take off
pulling down an inside straight on the last card

the latter would be a fleeting flash of luck that pays off big...and undoubtedly couldnt be repeated with any amount of regularity. the payoff can often be huge but incredibly short lived.

the former more like 'hearing opportunity knocking and answering the door'. also a big payoff, but spread over alot more time

my take
CJ

katiesue · 08-22-2006, 02:57 PM

Eliza Hodgkins 1812 · 08-22-2006, 04:51 PM

Some things you work hard for and some things you're lucky to have.

I've a friend who worked very hard to educate herself, see the world, become a professor, earn a comfortable salary, build a perma-culture farm on her property, etc. But when I talk about her successes with her, she doesn't congratulate herself. She tells me she's lucky.

"What does luck have to do with it? You worked *hard* for those things?"

Her reply was basically this:

I was lucky to have parents who were financially secure and could afford to send me to good schools. I was lucky to have parents who could pay for my college education so that I never had debt. I was lucky that my grandmother left me $11,000 when she died, so that I could backpack through Europe. I was lucky to have parents who could help me put a down payment on the house, or else I wouldn't have any land to farm....

There are people in more fortunate circumstances than others. Working hard is a part of her make-up, but she counts herself lucky because she started out in life with fewer road blocks than other people have.

I like the expression, "The only man who can call himself happy is a dead one." Meaning, you can never really say, until it's over, whether you've had a happy, or even a lucky, life. You could be the happiest of men for 40 years. You can think, "I'm having a very happy life!" But then your wife and children die in an accident, and you spend the next 20 years miserable... It can all change in an instant, for better or for worse. Luck of the draw, I guess.

Oh, and the film The Cooler is a rather lovely mediation on this very topic.

blueerica · 08-22-2006, 05:52 PM

Well-put, EH

€uroMeinke · 08-22-2006, 07:56 PM

This sounds more like gratitude than luck - I have the former in abundance, not sure about the latter. To be luck is is always being on the winning side of taking a chance, of course sometimes it is lucky to lose so you discover gratitude. Perhpas it just a feeling and it's always nicer to feel lucky, then you can do the things you want to do without trepidation.

08-22-2006, 12:28 PM	#1
Snowflake lost in the fog Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: San Francisco Posts: 7,831	How do you define lucky? I was emailing with a friend this morning and we were talking about things, like the recent sale of my fantasy estate that I'd restore if I had won the powerball (sadly that will go under the wrecking ball soon). And she said to me, "Why aren't we lucky?" And I was just thinking about that the other day. I am really, in fact, quite lucky, I think. I have a comfortable life, a decent wage, a really great cat, some very lovely friends, reasonably good health, and interests that I can and do enjoy which cost little financially and enrich me a great deal inside. I thought when she asked that question, well, is it luck? I don't know, but I do feel incredibly lucky. __________________ Be yourself; everyone else is already taken. - Oscar Wilde
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08-22-2006, 02:08 PM	#3
Eliza Hodgkins 1812 Sputnik Sweetheart Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Long Beach Posts: 2,685	Getting lucky.
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08-22-2006, 02:46 PM	#4
Not Afraid HI! Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 17,108	Lucky is when things just fall into place without you having a part in it. Lucky people aren't always happy and happy peole aren't always lucky. I'd choose happy over lucky - or maybe it's happy-go-lucky? (What does THAT mean, anyways?)
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08-22-2006, 02:56 PM	#5
Capt Jack check your head Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 4,174	I think theres a difference between 'being lucky' and 'a stroke of luck'. 'being lucky' appreciation for ones own 'wealth of life' finding what you yourself consider 'true love' finding, getting and keeping a job you really enjoy doing 'stroke of luck' lottery winner missing a plane that crashes on take off pulling down an inside straight on the last card the latter would be a fleeting flash of luck that pays off big...and undoubtedly couldnt be repeated with any amount of regularity. the payoff can often be huge but incredibly short lived. the former more like 'hearing opportunity knocking and answering the door'. also a big payoff, but spread over alot more time my take CJ __________________ a clear conscience is a sure sign of a fuzzy memory
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08-22-2006, 02:57 PM	#6
katiesue Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: San Diego Posts: 4,678	__________________ My life is so exciting I can hardly stand it.
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08-22-2006, 04:51 PM	#7
Eliza Hodgkins 1812 Sputnik Sweetheart Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Long Beach Posts: 2,685	Some things you work hard for and some things you're lucky to have. I've a friend who worked very hard to educate herself, see the world, become a professor, earn a comfortable salary, build a perma-culture farm on her property, etc. But when I talk about her successes with her, she doesn't congratulate herself. She tells me she's lucky. "What does luck have to do with it? You worked hard for those things?" Her reply was basically this: I was lucky to have parents who were financially secure and could afford to send me to good schools. I was lucky to have parents who could pay for my college education so that I never had debt. I was lucky that my grandmother left me $11,000 when she died, so that I could backpack through Europe. I was lucky to have parents who could help me put a down payment on the house, or else I wouldn't have any land to farm.... There are people in more fortunate circumstances than others. Working hard is a part of her make-up, but she counts herself lucky because she started out in life with fewer road blocks than other people have. I like the expression, "The only man who can call himself happy is a dead one." Meaning, you can never really say, until it's over, whether you've had a happy, or even a lucky, life. You could be the happiest of men for 40 years. You can think, "I'm having a very happy life!" But then your wife and children die in an accident, and you spend the next 20 years miserable... It can all change in an instant, for better or for worse. Luck of the draw, I guess. Oh, and the film The Cooler is a rather lovely mediation on this very topic.
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08-22-2006, 05:52 PM	#8
blueerica Nueve Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 6,497	Well-put, EH __________________ Tomorrow is the day for you and me
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08-22-2006, 07:56 PM	#9
€uroMeinke L'Hédoniste Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: A.S.C.O.T. Posts: 8,671	This sounds more like gratitude than luck - I have the former in abundance, not sure about the latter. To be luck is is always being on the winning side of taking a chance, of course sometimes it is lucky to lose so you discover gratitude. Perhpas it just a feeling and it's always nicer to feel lucky, then you can do the things you want to do without trepidation. __________________ I would believe only in a God that knows how to Dance. Friedrich Nietzsche
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