Lucky

October 12, 2012

Twice on Wednesday I found myself talking to someone about how lucky I am. The first time, I was sitting on the back of my horse, talking to my friend and trainer, Gayle, about how my experience with Tank has been one of the best things in my whole life. We talked about how lucky I feel first to even own a horse, and also to have one that I’ve been able to bond with so closely. I mentioned that my life is so much better than I ever imagined it being. Though I was speaking out of the emotion of the moment, glossing over the pain and emotional storms I’ve weathered, it is true that I am lucky. If I started to list the struggles and problems of my life, that lucky feeling would certainly fade. It was then that I realized it’s my choice what version of my life to dwell on, and ultimately my choice whether I feel “lucky” or not.


In the second instance, I had emailed my friend Laure an image of some sketchbook pages I loved, expressing a desire to have my sketchbook resemble them. We emailed back and forth about developing artistic style, and I finished one email with, “I’m lucky to have some lovely artists to be influenced by, aren’t I?” While I’m still learning the basics of drawing and painting, let alone working on my “style,” between the support and encouragement of my friends (my classmates in Laure’s classes as well as Laure herself) and the wealth of material available in books and online, I have the ability to enjoy and learn from many different artists. I can’t help but be inspired. This may seem like an insignificant matter to feel lucky about—but isn’t life made up of “insignificant matters”?

Coincidentally, we have a new resident at our barn, a tiny, elderly pony whose name is Lucky. Poor Lucky was essentially starving to death because his previous owners (well-meaning but ignorant) didn’t realize the condition of his teeth made it impossible for him to eat normally—his food needs to be soaked into soupiness. Aside from his thinness and the neglect of his hooves and coat, he seems healthy.  He’s lucky to have been found by caring people who hope to help him, and a vet who is willing to take on some of his care without compensation. With any luck, he’ll live out his life in comfort, being spoiled by the girls (and the adults) at the barn.

Lucky doing what he does best
I guess what I’m trying to say is that feeling lucky is to some degree a matter of perspective, acknowledging the negatives but choosing to focus more on the positives. It’s part of my “Catching Happiness” philosophy, when I remember to live by it.

What makes you feel lucky?

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8 comments

  1. Cheryl GebhartOctober 13, 2012 at 10:21 AM

    What a lovely post! It is so true that how we look at things is largely a choice we make - what we focus on versus what we choose to ignore. I feel lucky every day myself - in so many ways. We named our previous cat Lucky, because we thought he was lucky to find us (and we were lucky to find him).

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  2. Kathy A. JohnsonOctober 13, 2012 at 11:59 AM

    Thank you, Cheryl. Knowing you, I'm sure that your cat was lucky to find you. :) And I feel lucky to have you as a friend!

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  3. Laure FerlitaOctober 13, 2012 at 12:48 PM

    It will always come down to perspective. Always.

    I feel lucky to be doing what I do on a daily basis (art) and to be able to share with others that feel the same way I do. Sometimes I get a little too mired down in the "difficulties" and lose sight of that fact.

    I feel lucky to have met you as well as to have had some extraordinary adventures in that short time.

    Life is good!

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  4. Kathy A. JohnsonOctober 13, 2012 at 3:53 PM

    Laure--Yes, it is. And I definitely feel lucky to have met you, and to have shared our adventures. Here's to many, many more!

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  5. ElizabethOctober 13, 2012 at 6:41 PM

    What a great reminder to count our blessings every day! I haven't felt very lucky lately, but I've been reminding myself that things could be much different in my life.

    After fracturing a tooth this week, I enjoyed an emergency root canal (sarcasm intended). Although the time and expense (not to mention pain) was unplanned, I'm grateful to have the care I had. My dentist referred me to a wonderful endodontist. I was grateful for the anesthetics -- something my grandmother would have loved to have in her day. I had a chance to save the tooth, rather than having it pulled and losing a large molar and an important chewing surface!

    After the initial "Oh no, why me?" response, on reflection I felt very lucky. Now, if the other things that have gone wrong can be so easily fixed. But I'm feeling lucky today...

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  6. Kathy A. JohnsonOctober 14, 2012 at 9:54 AM

    Elizabeth-I'm so sorry to hear you fractured a tooth--I've done that before and it's a terrible feeling. I'm glad you were able to step back and find what you could be grateful for in a painful and unpleasant situation. I'm extremely grateful for pain relief of all kinds!

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  7. Oregon Gifts of Comfort and JoyOctober 14, 2012 at 1:19 PM

    Kathy, this is such a positive post, and what I think of as having an attitude of gratitude, or, counting our blessings. Even though bad things and hard times have happened in the past, the little things of today are the ones to celebrate.

    How nice of your barn community to take in Lucky!

    Kathy M.

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  8. Kathy A. JohnsonOctober 15, 2012 at 9:16 AM

    Thanks, Kathy. Hopefully, Lucky will have some good years being spoiled by the barn community!

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