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Do you believe in luck? Two weekends ago, my family and I experienced a trio of "bad luck". We all got the flu, my son broke his tooth and then my two year old daughter and I were in a car accident. It got me thinking about the saying "Bad luck comes in threes". With some research now behind me, I think that the saying comes from the Holy Trinity. Three is the symbol of the trinity. If one defiled the trinity's sanctity it would transgress holy law, invite disaster and perhaps, even invite the loss of power of oneself to the devil.
Three is a common number in folklore -- three little piggies, three billy goats gruff, Goldilocks and the three bears, the three ghosts in A Christmas Carol, the three fates, the three wisemen, etc. Does this mean that once you've hit the cursed number three that your luck will change? Well, for me personally, things have been pretty quiet (knock on wood) since our nasty trio wrapped up. The puke from the flu is all cleaned up and the carpets have been shampooed. The broken tooth is fixed. I've got an appointment to get the car in to be looked at and have replaced my daughter's car seat. Luckily, I guess, neither of us was hurt in the car wreck. Hopefully, that's it for now.
But is luck merely a statistical coincidence? Is it fate? If you believe in luck, does that mean that you have an external locus of control? What I really mean is do you have control of your destiny? I think that you do, that the concept of luck is a fallacy. People strive to see meaning in their lives. Reasons why bad things happen to good people. Sometimes they just do. It's the "luck of the draw".
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That is not to say that you should believe that you do not have control over your own life. You do. You have the power to behave differently and to think differently. Instead of viewing all of life's events through the lens of luck, see life as a series of challenges to be met. Good things can and do happen everyday to everyone everywhere. It's just that our society focuses on the negative.
If you watch the news, you'll notice that people are killed, children are kidnapped, the economy is falling apart, politically many countries are in ruins, there are terrorists, gang members, and bad people everywhere you look. People are planning robberies, assassinations, murders, rapes, and all sorts of atrocities. What they don't report is the positive. Every day beautiful children are born, people laugh, marry, rejoice, make love, age gracefully, mature, grow and learn. Kittens are rescued from trees and people are rescued from poverty, disease, unhappiness, and abuse. Children learn new things everyday. Perhaps we as a society should not see things as only negative. It's only one side of the coin.
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I've found in my life that you see what you are looking for. That is to say that if you are looking for something positive, you'll find it and if you're looking for something negative, you'll find that too. I've also learned that something awful can turn out to be something good. I was married previously to a man who was self-centered and immature. I loved him and it ripped me apart when he left. Our divorce was painful but served to show me who he really was as opposed to the person I thought he was. Less than two months after we separated, I began dating the man I am now married to who is so good to me and my children. He's the most wonderful husband that anyone could ever wish for. So my divorce lead to me finding the man of my dreams.
I've spent much of my life waiting for the other shoe to drop. For someone I love to disappear through death or disinterest. For something bad to happen to myself or to those I hold dear. I am trying, quite desperately at times, to try to put myself back in charge of my life. To gain control over my thoughts, emotions, behaviours and destiny. If bad luck really does come in threes then try to view good luck as coming in the hundreds!
