by Marty Coleman | Feb 19, 2010 | Luck, Mary Chapin-Carpenter |
As luck would have it, one of my favorite songs is about luck!
It’s also about the ebb and flow of life, of fortune. You aren’t always on top, you aren’t always at the bottom. Knowing how to live within that ebb and flow, when to row, when to sail, when to seek harbor, when to ask for help, when to see others need help, all those are just as much a part of being successful in life as is money or other, more obvious things.
Check out the lyrics to the song ‘The Bug’ by Mary Chapin Carpenter. Listen to a piece and then download the song from iTunes. It’s on her ‘Come On, Come On’ album, 1992. It’s a great song to run to, by the way.
Drawing and commentary © Marty Coleman
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by Marty Coleman | Feb 18, 2010 | Herbert Zbigniew, Luck, Paul Valery |
Aren’t you lucky! It’s a ‘two-quotes-for-the-price-of-one’ luck napkin.
I put these two together on the same napkin because they are the carnal and intellectual sides of the same coin.
I like being older. I like having more wisdom than I used to. I like to think that I am a better person than I used to be. But I also know that that ‘wisdom’ is, in many cases, the stacking up of suitcases full of experiences. They are stacked in such a way that my ‘wisdom’ seems to have come from some far off place, but the reason I can see things as I do is because I have this great view from atop the suitcases.
I also know that that great view can make me think more of myself than I should. I can start to preen and strut that I have such a great view, that I have had such good luck. I start to think I made it all happen. That is the exact thought, if personified, would put the rocks in my path to make me trip.
Once again, humility is key in understanding luck and and living with good fortune.
Quotes by:
“Wisdom adjusts itself to luck” – (top) Herbert Zbigniew, 1924-1998, Polish poet
“Man preens himself on his strokes of luck.” – (bottom) Paul Valery, 1871-1945, French poet
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by Marty Coleman | Feb 17, 2010 | Lew Wallace, Luck |
Lucky you, day 2 in my Luck series!
You know why sports heroes always sound so humble when they win the big game? Because they are well-mannered, that’s why. They know how they have felt in the past when they have lost and the winners have rubbed it in their faces. They know what a lack of character it shows. I know it might seem like such a cliche, but the truth is most sports figures know how lucky they are to be where they are. To win the big game they know that no matter how great one throw or one defensive move was, it wasn’t JUST that moment that really won the game.
What luck have you had in life? Have you been grateful, understanding the plethora of people who made it happen beyond your own control, or are you filled with your own self importance, the self-made man or woman who did it on their own! I don’t mean to diss the self-made person, but understanding how good fortune really works should always leave a person with some humility.
Drawing and commentary © Marty Coleman
“One is never more on trial than in the moment of excessive good fortune.” – Quote by Lew Wallace, 1827-1905, Union General, American Civil War and Author of ‘Ben Hur’
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by Marty Coleman | Feb 16, 2010 | Luck, Ovid |
Thanks to Donna G. and Jacqueline U. for suggesting ‘Luck’ as a new topic. Not sure how much of a series it will be, but it’s a series of one at least.
It’s pretty simple really, if you want to be lucky in life, put yourself out there to be lucky. With the lottery yes, you can just buy the ticket and go home. If you are the lucky one, even if you are ensconced in your solitary world, it will happen. But in most other ‘luck’ phenomenon you have to be out and engaged with the world for that luck to find you.
So, whether you are searching for a metaphorical fish or a real one , you won’t have the ‘luck’ you want unless you are out there casting your line.
Drawing and commentary © Marty Coleman
“Luck affects everything: let your hook always be cast; in the stream where you least expect it, there will be a fish.” – Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso), 43 BCE – 19 BCE, Roman poet
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