Have you ever heard yourself saying “Wow, I’m so lucky!”? You might say it when some amazing opportunity shows up. You may use it in terms of a really special person in your life that you get to spend time with. Maybe you found a $20 dollar bill blowing in the gutter. Or perhaps you slipped out of a sticky situation unscathed.

But what is luck anyway? How does it differ from good fortune?

I noticed myself using the word luck recently, and it got me thinking about the energy behind the word and why it might be wise to lean on the term ‘fortunate’ a bit more often.

Luck is something that can come along and save you in the nick of time. A stroke of luck is what you need when life has you on the brink. Sometimes luck is your last hope.

Luck is what bails you out when all seems to be lost. And why is that? One could say that when the universe has bigger plans for you it might decide to wait until you are deep enough in the quicksand of whatever lesson you need to learn to bail you out.

In nearly every tale of transformation there’s a pivotal moment where the hero snatches victory from the jaws of defeat by overcoming the longest of odds. You, as hero of your own story, can likely point to a moment or two in your life’s saga where some lucky break was the catalyst for a  much-needed step up the ladder of consciousness.

Luck is ineffable, mercurial, and unpredictable. Relying on it too much is to live life too close to the edge. Bad luck thrives in the soil of chaos. Good luck can spare you when the universe has whomped you upside the head and hopefully, you finally got the memo.

When you wish someone ‘Good Luck!’ before an important moment it can feel like you’re short-changing the hard work and sweat they put in beforehand. When you affirm their abilities with an affirmation of their prowess, you boost their confidence without discounting their practice.

Good fortune, on the other hand, is an emergent property that is the result of an endless sequence of moments that were handled with diligence, presence, and integrity.

Good fortune is invited into your life by an accumulation of good habits, practicing the art of present moment awareness, and constantly remembering to be grateful. Generosity helps too.

Good fortune can be cultivated. It can be built upon. It has a way of growing as your consciousness expands. Best of all, the habits that bring it to you can be learned.

One might even say that learning how to cultivate good fortune is the best way to make sure luck is on your side when you need it most.

May your good fortune grow, and may luck be there when you need it. Much love till next Monday!

M+

Mark Metz
Director of the Dance First Association
Publisher of Conscious Dancer Magazine