‘Undelivered Mail’: To luck

How necessary are you, actually? I all the time considered you as one thing ubiquitous — all of us obtained our share of you serving to us out once we wanted it probably the most. However how a lot of your mythicism is simply coincidence? 

‘Fortunate woman syndrome’: in case you consider you’re fortunate, good issues will come to you.

I informed my grandad the summer season earlier than senior yr, “All the things good that’s ever occurred to me was simply good luck.” That’s a daring assumption to make. Was a component of luck concerned in all the pieces? Most likely. Was it the important purpose why issues simply appeared to work out? Nope. However perhaps I’d been practising my model of fortunate woman syndrome — attracting luck by attributing all the pieces I did to it. 

Then got here faculty purposes. Day after day, I used to be reassured by everybody surrounding me,  “Sara, these items are simply luck.” Luck grew to become omnipresent in each crevice of my life.

So, once I opened my determination letter on the primary of April, I keep in mind screaming, “I’m so fortunate!”

However this attribution to a idea, not even an actual place or particular person, isn’t all the time truthful to ourselves. Sure, it’s possible you’ll chant affirmations to your self due to a TikTok, inform your self that you’re the ‘Fortunate Lady’ they discuss, and save each sound that claims to offer you dangerous luck in case you skip. But it surely’s necessary to do not forget that luck is simply that — a phrase. 

There’s a component of probability in all the pieces we do; there are simply too many issues occurring concurrently in our little world to not have that. So, though I feel I’m so fortunate to be right here (particularly now that the climate’s so good), I additionally know that my being right here was made doable by a collection of possibilities that by some means turned in my favor. I don’t know if that’s luck — as a result of to entry that luck, you need to have labored laborious, performed these actions and pursued your passions. 

When it really works in your favor, this syndrome is nice. I’ll attribute all the pieces I’ve performed to luck, and in some convoluted approach, that’ll preserve me working laborious as a result of I cross off all the pieces good that occurs as a fluke. I’ll preserve taking dangers, take a category WAY out of my consolation zone or attempt one thing new, hoping I’ll be fortunate. We don’t resolve the place we’re born, which college we go to, what our mother and father are involved in, and the way that’ll form our pursuits. We do resolve what we’ll do with these alternatives, and people selections aren’t all the time luck.

It goes downhill while you attribute all the pieces dangerous that occurs to luck. “Oh no, I used to be so unfortunate I fell off my bike,” and “Shit, I bought such a foul grade on my closing, I’m SO unfortunate.” A loud sigh steadily accompanies these sayings. When these change into a query of luck, it turns into irreversible — one thing you’ve gotten and may’t eliminate. 

So despite the fact that luck acts as a terrific protecting blanket, preserving us heat and letting us consider on this legendary idea as if it’s an individual, our pal even, I’m going to maintain myself accountable for a way a lot I give it. Luck is necessary, I agree, however so are my actions, extra so than luck can ever carry. 

Thanks for being on my aspect for all these years. I’ll preserve you close to. 

Love,

Sara