Okay ... so I have decided to start keeping a "luck diary." The idea being that I must write daily about one or two small things that I consider positively lucky. I thought I might try it for just one week. After that I think it might become too much of a chore and could feel boring. This is a bit of a side track to my usual type of blog posts, and already I am feeling a little weird about it. It seems superficial and cutesy. But, why not seize the opportunity? as Professor Richard Wiseman, a psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire in the UK suggests lucky people do. I mean, I must admit that I consider myself lucky most of my life, and it is true that I have seized all kinds of opportunities (and still do) even though some of them didn't/don't always have positive outcomes, although many did.
For example, when people invite me to present, I usually say yes right away even if the travel to them is inconvenient and anxiety producing, or if they can't pay me very much money for my services. Invariably, the experiences are positive and worthwhile. I learn so much from everyone wherever I travel, and am able to impart my concerns and ideas about treating children with kindness and compassion. There are always one or two people who get what I am talking about, and I feel so grateful that even one child's emotional life may be improved by my having seized that opportunity.
However, I think the purpose of this type of luck diary is more about small things that happen day to day that might go by unnoticed if I don't allow myself to quietly focus through the blur of the busyness of hundreds of moments to notice them.
So, here goes: last night we went to a friend for dinner before setting out to see a show together. The dinner was delicious and the company warm and stimulating. Time passed by and we realized that we had very little time to get to the theater. We sped down the stairs to the car, climbed in and drove as fast as we could given the small side streets, traffic lights, and dark, rainy night. As we approached the theater we worried they would not allow us into the first act if we were late, and it looked as if it would take time to find parking. Suddenly we noticed a parking spot directly in front of the theater door - a sidewalk away. Tom deftly maneuvered the car into the tiny patch close to the sidewalk. We opened the car doors and spilled out into the theater, where we were rushed to our seats in time for the show to begin.
Our friend called that parking karma.
A year ago at Mining Nuggets: Rambling
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