Do you feel like you have good fortune? Do you revel in the gifts life has given you? Or, do you feel you are at the whim of fortune, both good and bad? Do you agree with the saying, “If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all?” Where are you on the “Wheel of Fortune?”
If you look at fortune as something outside of yourself, as something that happens to you, then you feel fear and powerlessness, because you feel you have no control over what befalls you. You are Luck’s plaything, never knowing when good fortune or bad will strike. It leaves you feeling a bit unsafe, doesn’t it?
If you look at fortune as something within yourself, then that feels better, doesn’t it? “I always have good parking Karma.” “Luck always shines on me.” “Things always seem to work out for the best.” Even if luck doesn’t always shine, even if you don’t always get the premium parking space, just having the belief that fortune is with you, not against you, makes it easier to deal with things when times are tougher.
There’s a great quote attributed to Mike Todd (and I hope I am getting this right!), “I’ve been broke, but I’ve never been poor.” So, even when this man’s fortunes had dwindled, he never felt as though he was poor–he was simply temporarily out of funds!
When the political and news people hyperventilate over “fiscal cliffs” and major recessions, they are perpetuating the “we are poor” myth as opposed to knowing that some people are wealthy, some are not so wealthy, and some are temporarily out of funds. And, where you are in this spectrum has very little to do with the size of your bank account or stock portfolio. Some of the richest people “talk poor” while those with more limited financial means feel absolutely flush. What’s the difference? What make the rich person feel not rich enough and the person of more modest means feel absolute contentment and abundance?
It’s your feeling regarding fortune, and how it applies to you. The person who knows they can make another million in six months doesn’t worry if they lose half of that in a bad investment. The person who knows their skills are valued and needed in any economy doesn’t worry about whether or not an economic downturn will make them lose their house. Knowing that you are your fortune, knowing that you are deserving of an abundant life and good friends and loving family, knowing that fortune shines within you, that is what gives you the confidence and truth of your fortune.
What about things outside of your control? Well, first off, you only control your part. The Universe, Divine, God, whatever word works for you, is in control of a lot of what happens. But, since this is the planet of free will, you get a choice. You get to choose how you react to the world and happenings around you. You are in charge of your beliefs and response.
What does that mean? It means that with every event that happens to you, you get to decide how you feel about it, and what you are going to do about it. So, say, you don’t get that great parking spot close to the store you need to visit. You can grumble about how unfortunate you are that you have to hoof it a bit farther than you’d like, or you can decide that a little walking wouldn’t hurt, and might be beneficial to your long-term health. If it’s raining, you can be thankful that you have an umbrella or a hood on your coat to help keep you dry. How you choose to react to any given situation is totally up to you. But, you feel more empowered, and less at the whim of fickle fortune if you choose to see the positives instead of whining about the negatives.
So, what if something truly devastating happens? The loss of a loved one, the destruction of property due to storms or wildfires, the unexpected job loss or health issue? These are tougher than parking spaces, and no one expects you to just gratefully embrace devastating loss. However, if you let these experiences define who you are and what your whole life is about, then you are allowing that bad fortune to be greater than it is. For example, years ago I lived next to a woman who told everyone who would listen that she hated the Christmas season, and never celebrated it, because her husband had died during that time. When I sympathetically asked her how long ago that was (thinking maybe it was within the past five years) she told me it had happened over twenty years ago! No wonder this woman was a fearful, bitter, angry person. She was still focusing on her suffering of twenty years past, and had been re-opening and digging at that wound every Christmas season for twenty years.
Bad luck, bad fortune, happens to most people at one time or another. Financial loss, health issues, loss of a loved one–very few people get through life unscathed by misfortune. However, if you focus on that, you become the misfortune. If you allow every little negative thing that happens to you define who you are, then you are bound to 1) attract more of that to you by your negative energy vibrating outward, and 2) begin to view everything through the negative fortune lens. Even when good things happen, you don’t trust them or don’t think you deserve them because your own personal radio is tuned to the “Life Sucks” Misfortune channel.
Take a look at how you view your experiences. Is there a way to look at them from a different perspective? Can you stop yourself from the knee-jerk negative response that you may have been brought up with, and teach yourself to allow good fortune to flow through you, to be you? Can you accept Divine good fortune with grace and gratitude, instead of turning up your nose at the delightful possibilities placed right in front of you?
Good fortune is yours if you recognize and allow it. It may take some major rethinking about things in order to feel comfortable with that truth. It’s up to you. Accept that your life is made up of moments of good fortune, perhaps punctuated now and then with not-so-good fortune. But, if you take a look at your life, you will realize that most of the moments have been, if not fantastic, at least good. That, most of the time, you are blessed.
Accept your good fortune, and know that more is coming to you–you just have to be open to the possibilities. After all, if there’s manure, there’s gotta be a pony somewhere!
In joy and love,
Barbara