I’ve used to think that being lucky was just a matter of making you luck – working hard, being smart, suiting up. But these later years have shown me that luck is not just up to me. There is something magical in the randomness of life that can give you that extra push, or sometimes, that extra rock thrown right at your dreams. I guess that part that is under your, my control is how I adapt to this randomness. That not giving up when the bad luck feels overwhelming is its own kind of luck. I used to give up pretty easily. My luck was not the good during those years. Lately, in the past 30 years, (God, have I really been alive so long that 30 years feels like yesterday?) but in these past years, I’ve not given up so fast. Knitting has been a major catalyst in that area. Using colors to brighten or subdue something has no logic, it is random and it seems to work. Not giving up when I started to write, even when the work was terrible, has eventually provided great joy. And better writing. I don’t think you just make your own luck. I think you work past the bad luck until you get to the good part. So, in that way, you do make your own luck. And my ability to work past the darkness has increased as I’ve gotten older. I’m very thankful for that. Life was such a series of bad luck, but it’s not like that anymore. I’ve stopped giving up, though I am also much more realistic about what I’m going to tackle.
Maybe that’s also an aspect of good luck. Really knowing your limits. And your gifts.
By pamela painter
On July 14, 2021
I like the detail of knitting to change your luck.