Saint Patrick’s Day for the Unlucky

Photo provided by Pixabay
Ashtyn Britt
Writer
abritt@lc.edu

What do we think of when we think of pure dumb luck? Winning the lottery? Becoming president with no experience? Gaining a significant amount of status and influence to the public by dabbing in front of a camera for the internet? Maintaining a great GPA and having more than four hours of sleep per night? Winning material overpriced vintage items in an eBay auction?

I’m willing to bet I’m not the only person who feels rather unlucky as of late, despite the talk of four-leaf clovers and leprechauns spreading around. Perhaps it’s bad choices or bad circumstances, but things can’t go well all of the time. In my experience, they can’t go well for even a majority of the time. So, I doubt anyone would judge me hoping to maybe come across a leprechaun willing to cut me a break.

However, in reality, the thing I’ve learned over time is that a lot of our luck we have control over. We can do our best to make what we believe are good choices, even if we get results we never expected in our wildest dreams. Timing also makes a difference, as well. Luck seems to have many factors that go into it, rather than just pure superstition.

My advice for people who feel unlucky this St. Patrick’s Day is to remember exactly how lucky you are. Chances are, you have a home, a functioning body, and food to eat. You may have a car, parents who love you, friends who support you.

You most likely have access to working plumbing, and thousands of resources you may not even realize you take advantage of every day. There are still people who are traded like objects, who starve, and who don’t even have the decency of a warm place to sleep at night. My dear readers, you are so much luckier than you realize.

Enjoy the luck you do have, even on bad days, be grateful and keep in mind those who aren’t as fortunate. Donate blood, give old possessions to Goodwill or other drives, do random good deeds for people. Today, I saw three homeless men pile their money together to buy and share a cheese pizza. My heart melted and had I not only seen them in passing while the passenger of a car, I would’ve liked to buy them all the sides they could want to go with that pizza. It’d been awhile since I’d seen a genuine act of humanity and compassion, and it felt wonderful to see that. It made me feel lucky to get to see such a beautiful thing in a world where sometimes it feels like nobody is lucky.

We are all so, so much luckier than we think. Enjoy wearing green and enjoying being with friends this holiday, but also remember to be thankful for the luck you do have. Yes, a majority of the time, we feel like life doesn’t go well. That’s what makes those special moments where things turn out better so worth it. Have a happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

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