25. You are not lucky, you are blessed.

Should we consider ourselves lucky or blessed for the good fortunes that have been bestowed upon us in this life? The answer can be very simple. If you are a believer in a Higher Power, you will probably choose the blessing label and if you are not a believer, you will decide that everything that happens to us in this world is just a matter of good or bad luck. Upon examining my own life I have come to my choice!

In summary, I have lived for eighty years in relatively good health, am among the 5% of the richest people in the world, and possess all of the essential amenities our world offers. I have supportive friends and family, have experienced and visited many countries and cultures around the globe, and live in a safe, comfortable, stable environment. I have never experienced war, famine, earthquakes, floods, or hurricanes. I have enjoyed a quality life and experienced so many earthly comforts that I feel my life has been full and fulfilled. Have I just been lucky or have I been blessed?

Luck has been defined as success or failure apparently brought by chance rather than through one's own actions. As I apply that definition to the successes of my life I can ask. Was I lucky to have been born in Canada, to have had loving parents, to have no childhood illnesses, to earn a university education, to acquire a life long profession, to be paid a pension after retirement, to have a loving family, to have lived a happy life? Were all of these just attributed to the choices that I made? And if so, was it just by chance that I made so many correct choices? If I were a statistician, I am sure that if I calculated the probability of making those millions of life choices correctly, the odds would be astronomical!

A good friend many years ago used to stop and correct me when I would say, "Boy, was I lucky about some success.” He would say, "Ken, you have not been lucky, you have been blessed." I have now adopted Bill's advice because my life really feels like a blessing, not just dumb luck! I know that I have been truly blessed!