BORN LUCKY

A few years ago, I went to Rocky Point Statuary to purchase a lawn ornament for my yard.  The statues are handmade on the premises by pouring cement into various molds.  This is becoming another one of those “lost arts”, such as knitting or weaving wicker into a basket.  The gentleman who owns the store learned the craft in Italy and has been making cement statues by hand here in the States for over thirty years .  As I wandered aimlessly about deciding which statute to buy, he approached me.  Instead of asking if I needed any help, he looked me straight in the eye and said, “You were born lucky.”  I didn’t know quite how to answer as I looked at him in astonishment.  All I could muster up was “what?”  Again he repeated himself, “You were born lucky.”  Instead of being happy and thanking him for saying such a nice thing to me, I got defensive.  “Well let me tell you something,” I said.  It was at this point I proceeded to tell him that my husband was sick with a brain tumor and all that I had been through.  He listened intently as I went on and on about all the terrible things that had happened.  Therefore, I said, “I was not born lucky.”  He looked at me straight in the eyes again and said. “Yes you were.”  “Whatever,” I thought and purchased a statue and left.  To this day, his words have sat with me.  What does it mean to be “born lucky?”

It has taken me a few years to understand what he did for me that day.  He was giving life to one of the lifeless forms around him.  That form was me.  I was just like the cement statues he made.   His insistence I was born lucky made me realize that I had let the negative events of my life overtake me.   His words were an offering of hope, an awakening of my spirit.   He made me reflect upon what is truly important in life and what it means to be born lucky.    When something overwhelmingly negative or tragic happens in life, we tend to focus in on it, let it consume us, and we lose sight of all the positives surrounding us.  There are always positives in life.  Heck, even life is a positive.  There are big positives, little positives, complex positives and simple positives.  These positives generate pleasures in life.  For instance, watching a baby crawl or having a dog place his head in your lap while looking for food can constitute a simple pleasure derived from a positive.  Can it be that you are born lucky if you can identify your positives and appreciate them or do you need a bit of luck?

I am one of those persons who have never found a four leaf clover.  It’s not for lack of trying.  As a child, I would search in a clover patch on my hands and knees for hours.  Even as an adult, I would always look for luck while weeding out that pesky clover patch.   How come some people can pluck one right out?  Are some people luckier than others?   A few years ago, I remember walking with a friend through a neighborhood with large houses and perfectly manicured clover free lawns.  These people must have been born lucky for look at all they have.  I would express to my friend how great it would be to live in one of these houses.  Her response was one that I will never forget. “Christine,” she said.  It may look grand from the outside, but you have no idea what’s really going on behind those walls.”  It made me think.  Of course, we all know money cannot buy luck or happiness but neither can a clover free lawn.  Can it be that it isn’t lucky to find the four leaf clover?  Maybe its luck if you haven’t found it because it’s the journey of finding that clover, not the destination of actually having it, that brings the greatest reward.

 I’m still on my journey and don’t have a complete definition of what it means to be “born lucky.”  Ask me again in a few years and I may have more to say.  However, here’s what I’ve learned so far:  We are born lucky if we can see the positives through the negatives.  We are born lucky if we can appreciate life’s simplest of pleasures.  We are born lucky if we can turn around when going the wrong way.  We are born lucky if we are still searching for that four leaf clover.  We are born lucky if we walk away with words of wisdom while purchasing a cement statue.

**After I wrote this blog piece, I went back to Rocky Point Statuary to take some pictures to accompany this writing.  I asked for the owner.  The same man that told me I was “born lucky” came out from the workroom.  “I know you.  Tell me your name,”  he said.   “Christine,” I told him.   He responded “Kristen.  That’s it.  So nice of you to come by and say hello.  How is your husband?”  I couldn’t believe he remembered me.  I told him I was writing a blog piece and was it okay if I took some pictures.  He was happy to oblige and gave me a tour of his remarkable and amazing place.  What an art!!  I was very impressed as he showed me the various pieces he was working on.  He took me to a back workroom where he was making rubber molds.   In that room there was a statue covered in rubber.  He said, “See that girl over there?  I’m naming her Kristen after you.  Do you want to know why?  Because you were born lucky.”  Kristen won’t be ready until the spring.  I cannot wait to pick her up.  She is now the Inner Beauty Workshops mascot.  I am lucky!!  Thanks Mario!



"Kristen"  Inner Beauty Workshops Mascot