How lucky are you?

It's March Madness and brackets have really been blowing up. This is actually one of the first years I haven't even filled out a bracket, too much work to do. But in watching some games last weekend, I started thinking about "luck". Then I drove by a billboard showing one of the lotteries was over $1 Billion. (I saw on the Terminal this morning someone in NJ won it) 🍀

The term "lucky" gets thrown around all the time and misused imo. Probabilities often come into the equation. After all, the odds of winning the lottery are pretty small. So if you have happen to benefit from a low probability event, you're labeled as "lucky". ⚖️

But do the odds have to be that low? What if the odds are in your favor? Does that mean your NOT lucky? 🤔

To me at least, "lucky" is more about the benefit than the probability, but odds are certainly a part of being considered lucky. Still, the benefit factor is the main driver.🎁

It's easy to say the NJ winner of $1 Billion is lucky. Of course, winning that kind of money brings a brand new set of problems. The lottery curse is well known.

But being lucky doesn't have to be so dramatic or even confined to receiving an external benefit. In fact, we are lucky when things DON'T happen.

A dear friend of mine was recently diagnosed and passed away with an aggressive cancer in just 3 months. She was just 51. A light in this world taken so quickly is just heartbreaking. 💔

Similarly, my brother-in-law passed away in a tragic car accident in 2021. He was 41. 😭

All of us have been touched by tragedies such as these with friends and family members. We are lucky to be alive and need to step back and appreciate the things we have. 🙏

So often, we forget about this and focus on what we don't have, what we could've had, what we SHOULD have!! 🤬🤬🤬🤬 We get angry about it and blame others. The animosity fuels hate and violence and divides us. ⚔️

Even winning $1 Billion dollars won't necessarily make you happy. Getting a new guitar won't make me happy. (well, maybe a little but the newness fades quickly) 🎸

We are all lucky in one way or another. 🍀

We are lucky to have families and friends who care about us. 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

We are lucky to have opportunities.

We are lucky to ... {fill in the blank}

We are lucky. So be happy and appreciative and help one another. 💖