Luck or life: when bad things happen to good people
Ernest Hemingway once said: “The world breaks everyone. And afterward, many are strong in the broken places.”
When we are going through adversity, it is not always possible to believe that everyone suffers loss and heartache. It feels and acts very personally when bad luck and bad life experiences happen to good people.
Our first response is “Why me?” We may wonder if we did something to deserve this punishment or problem. We may resent others who aren’t suffering and wonder why the problems didn’t choose them. We can even add up all the bad, selfish, and dishonest things a certain friend or acquaintance has done, and yet still has good health and a big bank account.
It’s not fair
Life is not fair. As a mother of six children, I worked very hard at Christmas so that the gifts came out evenly for everyone. No matter how many times I counted and then made lists and then counted, on Christmas morning in the flurry of presents, paper, and toys, I would realize that I hadn’t been fair. Someone had bought a watch worth twenty dollars and someone had bought a bracelet worth three dollars. Someone had gotten exactly the doll she wanted and someone else had gotten the one that was in style last year.
We finally decided to acknowledge and joke that no matter what we did, it was never going to be even. But the joy was that you knew the chances were good that one day it would be your turn to get exactly what you wanted. We often recited the battle cry of large families and preschools around the world; “You get what you get, and you don’t launch a fit.”
luck or life
Life is full of luck and also full of changes and opportunities. As Ernest Hemingway said before, we all break in some way and it’s the broken places that make us strong.
Bad luck is described as an unforeseen event, a fluke, and yet good luck is described as prosperity, wealth, windfall, success, advantage, gain and triumph, happiness, and blessings. Many times it is lucky that opportunities for growth and development come to us. When we seize the opportunity to grow through loss, hurt, and adversity, we will be stronger and more resilient. I know this to be true, because I have experienced it in my own life and in the lives of countless friends and family members.
Questions to think about
- Do you consider yourself lucky or unsuccessful? Because?
- Have you ever said “That’s not fair”. Because?
- What do you think about when bad things happen to you?
- Can you look back on your life and recognize how a certain situation helped you grow personally and spiritually?