March 17th, 2017
Affirmation: I am willing to change. I love and approve of myself.
Word of the Day: smaragdine (adj):
____
Luck
For today's St. Patrick's Day post, I wanted to share some musings on luck.
"The day you decide to do it is your lucky day." - Japanese Proverb
It is often said that luck is when opportunity meets preparation. I believe that this is only true to a certain extent. Specifically, I believe that preparation without action is futile at best. In my own experience, excessive preparation can lead to "analysis paralysis" and a feeling of trying to mentalize what must be experienced. This often leaves me feeling psyched and frazzled, with mounting fear and perfectionism.
I believe that fortunate things happen in our lives every day, but we are often so busy living our lives on auto-pilot that we do not stop to notice and appreciate them. We are so caught up in deadlines and habits that it is hard to break ourselves out of our ruts in order to decide to "do" in service of where we want our "luck" to manifest.
In the words of Celestine Chua"
“I don’t believe in luck. Luck = Leaving things to chance and outside world. I believe in being harbingers of our fate, taking action and creating our own path and destiny in life. Your life is yours to create – Don’t let others do it for you.”
Or as Emily Dickinson put it:
"Luck is not chance. It's Toil. Fortune's expensive smile is earned."
So if you want more luck, take action in line with your values and in the direction of your goals. Discomfort and fear are a part of it. Take more chances. Be more active. Show up more often. Life (and luck) begin at the end of your comfort zone.
What is one small action you are willing to take today to cultivate more luck in your life?
What are the obstacles that have kept you from taking this action in the past?
How might you handle these obstacles?
What does "being lucky" mean to you? Who do you consider to be lucky and why?
Affirmation: I am willing to change. I love and approve of myself.
Word of the Day: smaragdine (adj):
1. emerald-green in
color.
2. of or relating to
emeralds.
3. Rare. smaragd.
Morning Water and a Poet
We learn this from a drunken king
who wakes up hungover and sick,
asking for two things, a morning drink of water,
and Let it be brought by a poet.
There is a tradition that the wine
of nonexistence makes us God-drunk.
Intoxicated that way, we are purified.
There is a kind of poet
whose poetry pours that wine,
and there is another poet who makes us want
the red wine and the white.
The two poets may even have the same name.
Look inside form. Read with your soul
this Masnavi. Let it bring you
morning water and a poet.
We learn this from a drunken king
who wakes up hungover and sick,
asking for two things, a morning drink of water,
and Let it be brought by a poet.
There is a tradition that the wine
of nonexistence makes us God-drunk.
Intoxicated that way, we are purified.
There is a kind of poet
whose poetry pours that wine,
and there is another poet who makes us want
the red wine and the white.
The two poets may even have the same name.
Look inside form. Read with your soul
this Masnavi. Let it bring you
morning water and a poet.
____
Luck
For today's St. Patrick's Day post, I wanted to share some musings on luck.
"The day you decide to do it is your lucky day." - Japanese Proverb
It is often said that luck is when opportunity meets preparation. I believe that this is only true to a certain extent. Specifically, I believe that preparation without action is futile at best. In my own experience, excessive preparation can lead to "analysis paralysis" and a feeling of trying to mentalize what must be experienced. This often leaves me feeling psyched and frazzled, with mounting fear and perfectionism.
I believe that fortunate things happen in our lives every day, but we are often so busy living our lives on auto-pilot that we do not stop to notice and appreciate them. We are so caught up in deadlines and habits that it is hard to break ourselves out of our ruts in order to decide to "do" in service of where we want our "luck" to manifest.
Success in life, then, is not about "luck" - it is about managed thoughts, focused attention, and deliberate action.
In the words of Celestine Chua"
“I don’t believe in luck. Luck = Leaving things to chance and outside world. I believe in being harbingers of our fate, taking action and creating our own path and destiny in life. Your life is yours to create – Don’t let others do it for you.”
Or as Emily Dickinson put it:
"Luck is not chance. It's Toil. Fortune's expensive smile is earned."
So if you want more luck, take action in line with your values and in the direction of your goals. Discomfort and fear are a part of it. Take more chances. Be more active. Show up more often. Life (and luck) begin at the end of your comfort zone.
What is one small action you are willing to take today to cultivate more luck in your life?
What are the obstacles that have kept you from taking this action in the past?
How might you handle these obstacles?
What does "being lucky" mean to you? Who do you consider to be lucky and why?
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