Rethinking Luck

For a lot of years, I always felt I was seriously lacking in luck. I knew people who would win contests, who would, rather fortuitously, find themselves in possession of just enough money/time/ whatever to complete what it was they needed to complete, who would be customer 1,000,000 and I would be either 999,999 or 1,000,001. I felt that, like the cheesy singers on Hee Haw (look it up, people), if it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.

Then I realized that wasn’t really the case.

If all I had was bad luck, then I’d have broken bones. I’d have had stitches or even gotten so sick, I died. I would be on the street, I would be unable to get an advanced degree, I would not have had the family I had. My luck isn’t the winning the lottery type, it’s the getting through life type.

Just after Thanksgiving of this year, I was in a car accident. Wasn’t my fault, but it was fairly serious. Ultimately, the insurance company handling the claim declared my car a total loss. So where does the luck come in? The truck that smashed into mine was huge, but it was also going incredibly slowly. I was shaken, but unhurt. The guy who hit me recognized his fault and immediately claimed it. Although the policy of the Tulsa police was not to go to accident sites, one did appear, providing us with the needed documentation to file a claim. The guy who hit me also had a very good insurance policy. His was a new car, I’m sure that it was required as part of the loan. Nonetheless, he was covered. My car, while no longer pretty, was drivable and mechanically sound. I was able to drive it 700+ miles back to Colorado and my home. In the month that my car was in the shop, being looked over, I was given a rental car. No, it wasn’t a luxury car, not by any stretch, but I didn’t have to pay for it. And finally, I received a check from the insurance company. Enough to buy another car? No, not really, but it is enough to keep me current on my bills for a little while longer.

All things considered, I was pretty lucky.

Then there was me losing my job. This one is a shorter story. Basically, I’m fortunate enough to have a family who can help me financially. Because my father worked hard all his life, because he was thrifty with his money (which is not the same as cheap), when I wasn’t able to pay my mortgage or any other bills, when I wasn’t going to be able to buy groceries, he was able to help. He probably could have sent more than I asked for, but I didn’t want to ask for more than I needed. Partly because I will be paying him back at some point, partly because I’m an adult and I should be able to support myself at nearly 40 years of age. So a little bit of pride. Or stupidity, whatever. Still, very lucky. Very lucky indeed.

I’ve had various scenarios in my life that would demonstrate my incredible luck, and oddly, most of them don’t involve money. All of them, however, do involve people who’ve come into my life, either for a short while, or forever. My best friend is one of those. I was lucky to meet her. She understands the way my brain works more than anyone else I know. Why? Because hers works the same way. Oh, there are differences of course, it’d be pretty boring if there weren’t, but we have some similar tastes. Like in the men we prefer to drool over, f’rinstance. Trust me, that’s important between girlfriends.

So maybe I haven’t been classically lucky. But I certainly haven’t had a string of bad luck. There’s been quite a bit of hard work on my part, make no mistake about that, but I wouldn’t be sitting here on my computer, in my house, posting a blog online if it weren’t for some degree of luck.