Are You Feeling Lucky?

With the month of March comes St. Patricks Day. Do you celebrate this day? Maybe make some corned beef for dinner? Irish stew? The only thing I have ever done for this holiday is to wrap up some coins in parchment paper and bake them in a cake. My kids love it. I'm not actually sure what it has to do with St. Patricks Day, but the cake is green, so there's that.

Did you know?

St. Patrick’s Day is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (c. AD 385–461), the foremost patron saint of Ireland.
St Patrick is said to have used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish.

AND

St. Patrick's revelers thought wearing green made one invisible to leprechauns, fairy creatures who would pinch anyone they could see (anyone not wearing green). People began pinching those who didn't wear green as a reminder that leprechauns would sneak up and pinch green-abstainers.

Have you ever heard the phrase, "Luck of the Irish?"

Luck of the Irish is generally a phrase that you may hear on St. Patrick’s Day; however, this term originally meant bad luck.

The Irish have not had a particularly lucky history. "Luck of the Irish" refers to their long history conquest and famines.

I learned this when I was researching some Irish coins I was using in jewelry designs. I had planned on naming a ring "Luck of the Irish" because it was an adorable Irish coin with a rabbit on it. When I realized that it's referencing a history of misfortune, I decided against it. Instead I called it simply, Rabbit Ring because who doesn’t love alliteration?

The quote that comes with the ring is this: “Make your own luck”.

Have you heard that saying about luck being where hard work and opportunity meet?

I think this is definitely true. But there’s more to luck than that.

A lucky person is not someone who has everything they want.

The lucky people are those who appreciate everything they have.

A lucky person is not someone who never has hard experiences,

but someone who turns them into lessons.

It is true then, that we make our own luck.

We make our own luck when we change the way we look at our world.

There is an old Zen story that goes like this:

An old Chinese farmer had a mare that broke through the fence and ran away. When his neighbors learned of it, they came to the farmer and said, "What bad luck this is. You don't have a horse during planting season." The farmer listened and then replied, "Bad luck, good luck. Who knows?"

A few days later, the mare returned with two stallions. When the neighbors learned of it, they visited the farmer. "You are now a rich man. What good fortune this is," they said. The farmer listened and again replied, "Good fortune, bad fortune. Who knows?"

Later that day, the farmer's only son was thrown from one of the stallions and broke his leg. When the neighbors heard about it, they came to the farmer. "It is planting season and now there is no one to help you," they said. "This is truly bad luck." The farmer listened, and once more he said, "Bad luck, good luck. Who knows?"

The very next day, the emperor's army rode into the town and conscripted the eldest son in every family. Only the farmer's son with his broken leg remained behind. Soon the neighbors arrived. Tearfully, they said, "Yours is the only son who was not taken from his family and sent to war. What good fortune this is."

We get to decide what kind of frame to put around our experiences.

I believe with my whole heart that all things work together for our good.

If I may share one more quote that says this perfectly...

Change your thoughts and you change your world

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Comment

I love this Rabbit Ring …my husband and I can get very silly and one day he started calling me a twisted rabbit because of the way I was dancing around. So, now when we go out dancing we dance our private twisted rabbit dance. Acting silly is a great stress reliever and maybe it can change ones luck!

Jen Patience Grover on March 02, 2017

Are You Feeling Lucky?

Did you know?

Have you ever heard the phrase, "Luck of the Irish?"

I think this is definitely true. But there’s more to luck than that.

We make our own luck when we change the way we look at our world.

We get to decide what kind of frame to put around our experiences.

Kelly Annie Blog

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