Do You Believe in Luck?

Is the “luck of the Irish” just a myth? How do you know?

Everyone out there has heard of lucky charms. Some people may even prescribe to this practice. But what is a lucky charm, does it work and is it all about being Irish?

The answers to those questions are: whatever you find brings you luck, yes and no.

There are specific items that we have come to associate with luck. Things like four leaf clovers, for example, are the epitome of good luck charms. I have even heard the expression “find a penny pick it up, all day long you’ll have good luck” so many times that I am uber aware of it’s significance. Therefore, If I ever find a penny, I pick it up mainly due to the fact that it is supposed to bring me good luck. It wasn’t until I was a teenager when a friend informed me that I should not pick a penny up if the coin’s head was facing down, otherwise it wouldn’t work.

What did I do? Well, I continued to pick up pennies that had their heads up and then I began to flip the penny over if it’s tail was up. Maybe that coin wouldn’t bring me luck per se, but I felt my actions would potentially bring luck to someone else. And I’m all about helping other people, especially in ways that are mysterious or spiritual.

Which brings me to the next question: do charms work or not? All evidence concludes that yes, they do work. Whatever you believe is a sign for good fortune, whether it was taught or you just felt it, research shows that having this belief in something beyond our normal senses actually benefits us.

I can attest to this because no matter what my circumstances were whenever I came across a penny or other significant charm, I would temporarily forget about my life struggles long enough to replace despair with hope. Leaning down to pick up a penny takes all of a few seconds, but in those times I felt optimistic and more hopeful no matter what was going on in my life. And the times I flipped that coin over, were the times where my energy was aimed at helping someone else. This person would be a stranger to me, but that periodic emotion was one that lifted my spirits up. I didn’t need to know who received it and whether or not it helped them. That benevolent action alone that left no trail to me was actually greatly satisfying.

As for “the luck of the Irish”, it was actually a phrase born in America and it was attributed to the more fortunate miners who happened to be of Irish descent. But, the phrase didn’t come from Ireland. Even so, there is something about being connected to those who are Irish. Maybe they do bring good fortune but, even if they don’t, it seems that the belief that they do is not going to die down anytime soon.