Luckily

For weeks now I have walked past a four foot by five foot mirror sitting in my back alley miserably being snowed on and rained on and beat on by the sun. I have been admiring this mirror despite its dire habitat, and after my recent my household rearrangements, I have a blank wall just begging to be filled with a bit of reflection. And finally today I ran into my neighbor who owns this piece of property and got up the guts to ask her if it was in need of a new home.

With a positive response and permission to remove the mirror, I worked it into my schedule this very day. Let me say, it is SO much heavier than I had imagined it might be. And just awkward to carry. The wood is splintering and the mirror is no longer really attached to the frame. I lifted the thing up and my first thought was, "Oh please don't let me break this, because I so do not need seven years bad luck just because I was petty enough to worry about how my living room looks!" I quickly set it back down, and reassessed the situation. I reassured myself with the knowledge that glass is really very strong (or so Geoff says), picked it up again, and a few steps at a time, managed to carry it down the alley, through the backyard, and into the living room.

I love it and it did not break - yet. Unlike on this unlucky day...

Several weeks ago I came home excitedly clutching a four-pack of high quality root beer. I bought this for the kids and I while Geoff was away in Telluride overnight. It was a purchase I consider a special treat - not ordinarily in the budget. And as I lifted my arm to open the door while simultaneously holding the root beer, the carton broke, the root beer bottles spilled out, and root beer poured all over the back porch. I am always breaking things. I am always in too big of a hurry. But I remember thinking after this bit of bad luck, "Could I possibly have broken a mirror and cursed us for seven years?

Really I am not that superstitious. If I were I would probably remember that, "Yes, I did break a mirror in August of 2004 and soon our luck will turn," because as often as I break things, statistically it is likely that I have broken a mirror somewhat recently. But it got me thinking, are some people luckier than others? Should I take it personally when things do not go my way?

I must admit that I used to. I used to wonder "Why us?" when our shop burnt down, or when our employee lifted our portfolio the day I gave birth to Oscar, or like last week when the forklift somehow broke and sprayed hydraulic fluid all over a completed light fixture. But the more I live and hear other people's stories, the more I think it is RISK that contributes to luck. For example, by choosing to move the mirror, I assumed an element of risk in my life that would not have existed if I had let the mirror continue to remain in the alley. This is a relatively small amount of risk, but we make choices like this multiple times every day. Should I gamble with the mirror? Should Tildy wear underwear to the library or a pull-up? Should I allow Marek to walk home from school by himself?

And a risk can be also be great. Should I conceive another child? Should I buy a new house? Should I start my own business?

Root beer doesn't spill because of bad luck. It is risk. With risk, there will always be problems to work through.

It is the wise person who expects these problems and plans for them.

"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."