Oh oh / What's luck got to do, got to do with it?

Yeah, I'm a shameless Tina Turner fan. Who isn't? (actually, please don't reply to that). Also, Mark inspired me to think of songs as titles. Well, I sort of had that song stuck in my head, but I thought I'd make a post Mark-style: with an awesome song.

I got to thinking this morning on my way to work... October was a month to be someone you arent and dress up for Halloween and get your candy fix. November was a month to be thankful. December was a family-time, get-together, warmth-inducing month. Then we get January and get slammed with resolutions, and February with all the lovey-dovey, friendship and SAD stuff. What's March? Well, LUCK of course!

Do I consider myself lucky? Do you consider yourself lucky? Of course you do. Think about it. How often do you go out and think outside of the power struggle between you and debt? We're too often just focused in debt, and it becomes walls arounds us. All of our debts are written in these walls. We read our past mistakes over and over and over. They stare down at us and we pledge revenge. We regret doing some things and wish we had been smarter. Debt is always on our mind and it reflects in our actions.

But if you care to look outside your debt cubicle, per se, you would see that you actually have a lot to go for. For one, you're alive. Congrats! Yes, I know most of you think that is a given and don't think about it, or think it's the absolute bottom-of-the-barrel blessing. But it isn't. Have you seen the statistics these days? I won't make any numbers up, but there are a lot of people dead or dying. And not just in third-world countries, but people wearing similar shoes as you. People with careers, jobs, families, mortgage, car payments, goals and so on. Health is right up there too.

But outside those over-the-top blessings; think about your situation. Sure, there's debt. There are mistakes. There are regrets. There's Murphy. There's that vehicle/appliance/house part that needs fixing. And that cousin/parent/sibling/child/friend who is just not very nice to deal with until after they've had their 10th cup of coffee. There's also family, and that's hopefully a thing you're lucky to have. I'm lucky to have mine. Otherwise I really wouldn't be who I am today and probably wouldn't exist. I'm lucky for having a job or two. It's sounding like dejavu as I constantly am reminded I am thankful and lucky to have the things I have, regardless what challenges tag along.

I am actually really, really fortunate and very lucky. I don't mean LUCKY in the sense that this isn't something I've worked for. Some people take offense when the word "lucky" comes to play because they think the speaker is literally saying "you don't deserve this. It came to you by pure chance". Nope, not what I mean. I mean that with every breath you take, you're taking chances. And you're continuing to beat some chances, and not all of them are something you can control. A lot of them are completely outside of your control. And yet you continue to push on and move forward. I consider that lucky.

If you put everything (and I mean everything, good or bad!) on a scale, you are still coming ahead. Is that lucky? Considering all of the odds you've beat thus far, including being where you are in your debt journey, your health, your family and friends, things you've done and/or seen and/or experienced, I think you're lucky. I know I am.

How about you? Do you consider yourself lucky thus far, in the light of all of your challenges, misfortunes, miscues and mistakes?