Luck

We have all thought, at some point, "there are people who are unlucky." Sometimes it's true: there are very dramatic lives, people who have suffered major setbacks. But there are also those people who are simply convinced they are very unlucky. They tell you that everything has gone wrong for them, that they don't get along with their family, that their friends have disappointed them, that society doesn't value them.

These are people who tend to repeat the argument about the bad luck they have had or are having in life. They talk about it often because they are focused on their misfortune. And because they tend to feel jealous of people who "are very lucky." In most cases, they are people who find it hard to forget the harm they have been done or perhaps just the misunderstanding that led them to get angry with someone.

And then it becomes inevitable to wonder if what these people call "bad luck" is just the result of their egocentric, resentful, and envious character. And it's also hard to understand if they have never thought about it themselves. If they are really not aware that their attitude is, fundamentally, the touchstone of all the string of reproaches they make to life.

Then there is the other extreme: people who are generous, empathetic, and kind and who constantly show gratitude for the luck they have had. They highlight the luck they have had with siblings or children, the luck they have in keeping good friends or in feeling happy with the work they do.

Fortunately, experience gives us a radar that allows us to quickly detect both types. And if you are a little smart, it is easy to get closer to the group of those who believe they have been lucky in life. And even more importantly, you learn to quickly distance yourself from those who launch into a discourse of reproach as soon as they have the opportunity.

In the end, the formula is as simple as the chorus of that song sung by Jorge Drexler: “Everyone gives what they receive and then receives what they give, nothing is simpler, there is no other rule: nothing is lost, everything is transformed”.

It never fails: when you meet someone who is convinced that there is a kind of conspiracy around them to make them unhappy, it means they belong to the group of those who have never pondered why they are so "unlucky".

I don't mean to say that having a happy life only depends on ourselves. Life is not that simple. We all stumble over some strategically placed stones in our path. But returning to Jorge Drexler, it is usually true that giving love will bring us more love and that resentment is a bag full of dirt that brings us nothing and only pollutes everything.

Those who are truly lucky are those who, by nature, have what we call a good character and do not have to make a special effort to have it. The rest of us have no choice but to strive for it and review, from time to time, what we have done wrong.

The journey, however, becomes much more pleasant if we have our radar well activated and choose companions who make everything easier.