LUCK....do you believe it exists?

i tend to think of luck as some have mentioned as a statistical thing. anytime you increase your odds the better chance of having "good luck". i think it has a lot to do with your attitude. if your a generally positive person i think you tend to put yourself into situations (whether you're aware of it or not) that increase your odds of succeeding. more people are willing to help you because psychologically people want to be around "winners" as if some of that will rub off on them or benefit them in some way.

Originally posted by BlackOps719
Yes.....but who or what factor determines who is lucky and who is not?

Is it based on karma? Performance in a past life? Is God punishing some while rewarding others? Or is it just a random spin of the wheel?

Is there such a thing as just being cursed...or "born to lose" as some may say?

Please elaborate.

I've spent many years dwelling on the same questions.

As for what factor determines who is lucky and who is not, that one still remains a mystery to me for the largest part.

In regards to karma however, contrary to popular belief I do not think luck is based on karma. The good or bad you do in this life doesn't determine your luck factor at all in my honest opinion. You can be as saintly, selfless and giving as Mother Teresa but your luck factor still is what it is regardless. Likewise you can be as twisted as Adolph Hitler, it doesn't have a thing to do with your luck factor either way.

Your "luck" in the supernatural sense, simply is what it is, and is not determined by your actions and deeds. You won't suffer with bad luck any less just because you donated to the poor (or other act of kindess), and you won't be blessed with good luck any less just because you played games with someone's heart and devastated them emotionally (or other evil act).

Regarding your question "Is there such a thing as just being cursed...or "born to lose" as some may say?" I would answer that one in absolutely certainty, yes. And as far as I know if you're one of those unlucky damned souls, it is impossible to do anything to change it.

Regarding your question "Is there such a thing as just being cursed...or "born to lose" as some may say?" I would answer that one in absolutely certainty, yes. And as far as I know if you're one of those unlucky damned souls, it is impossible to do anything to change it.

Very interesting post

But the only problem with this...again...leads me back to that same old question...which is WHY?

What determines a mans fate? Certainly for every cause there is an effect, my point being how is it determined who is cursed with hard luck and who is not? It is decided by a divine ruler...i.e. God....or is it something more sinister? So you are left with basically two options here...either a persons luck and fate are entirely 100% random and dictated by sheer chance and happenstance....OR...something or someone else..an outside force...determines it for them. If you believe the prior, then you are asserting that the universe in completely random and non sensical and by such reasoning would have to believe that virtually everything in a persons life is pure coincidence or based on the law of averages and nothing more than a numerically determined freak show.

However, if you believe the latter of the two, that mans luck and fortune are influenced by an outside source (be it karma, God, alien manipulators) then WHO or WHAT is the cause of these occurances? AND what would make one more susceptible to misfortune and bad luck than another? Perhaps past life behavior, perhaps this would prove that life as we know it is nothing more than a science experiment and we are no more than lab rats on a scale that is so much larger than we can fathom, all being run by beings who are obviously more powerful and intelligent than we are.

Could you possibly see the hand of a greater power at work here...perhaps conducting it's own case study on human behavior? Add a little of ingredient A. to subject Y's life (happiness, tragedy)...while adding a bit of B. to subject X's life in order to see what the cause and effect might be? Just a flashing thought, far fetched I am sure, but who is to say we are not all being manipulated in our little rat mazes by this greater force, looking to see how we will react, testing the boundaries and limitations of the human intellect and the human spirit.

Do the words alien ant farm come to mind at all?...lol...watch the movie Dark City if you havent already, and you will catch a glimpse into what I am refering to.

GOOD RESPONSES THUS FAR!!!

Edited for spelling *

[edit on 8/3/07 by BlackOps719]

You have some really good questions and theories, anything is possible I think. Great thread, thanks for sharing your thoughts on these things.

Luck is a matter of perspective. Those who are grateful for the blessings that come their way are always lucky. Those who dwell on the doom and gloom are usually unlucky.

Your life is a reflection of your perspective on it. if you go around seeing things as being terrible, they inherently will be.

I'm the luckiest bastard that has ever been born. I love being alive, I love the adventure of being alive. I wake up every morning and I'm amazed that I get a whole new day to go out and laugh, cry, make others laugh and make others cry.

I refuse to say my life is something terrible or that it's some sort of punishment. I know better.

It is a gift, and I am grateful for that.

That is al the luck I will ever need.

wupy

Originally posted by mrwupy
Luck is a matter of perspective. Those who are grateful for the blessings that come their way are always lucky. Those who dwell on the doom and gloom are usually unlucky.

Your life is a reflection of your perspective on it. if you go around seeing things as being terrible, they inherently will be.

I'm the luckiest bastard that has ever been born. I love being alive, I love the adventure of being alive. I wake up every morning and I'm amazed that I get a whole new day to go out and laugh, cry, make others laugh and make others cry.

I refuse to say my life is something terrible or that it's some sort of punishment. I know better.

It is a gift, and I am grateful for that.

That is al the luck I will ever need.

wupy

You really said a mouthful, I think you've just basically mirrored the in-the-box thoughts and ideas that 95+ % of people have on the subject.

Originally posted by mrwupy
Luck is a matter of perspective. Those who are grateful for the blessings that come their way are always lucky. Those who dwell on the doom and gloom are usually unlucky.

Your life is a reflection of your perspective on it. if you go around seeing things as being terrible, they inherently will be.

I'm the luckiest bastard that has ever been born. I love being alive, I love the adventure of being alive. I wake up every morning and I'm amazed that I get a whole new day to go out and laugh, cry, make others laugh and make others cry.

I refuse to say my life is something terrible or that it's some sort of punishment. I know better.

It is a gift, and I am grateful for that.

That is al the luck I will ever need.

wupy

I definately understand what you mean, outlook and attitude can make a world of difference when determining a persons quality of life. That would account for a certain percentage of things in regards to human fortune. But the fact remains, bad things happen to good people every day. Some may respond better to hardship and life's trials than others, some may have a better attitude toward these types of things, but it doesnt change the fact that they have had misfortune or bad luck affect them.

So what causes it? Obviously we are responsible for the majority of our own choices and experiences, but what about the random things that can happen out of nowhere? Say for instance, what about the poor people in Minnesota who happened to be unlucky and unfortunate enough to have been on that bridge the other day? Was that fate that they were where they were supposed to be and that is how their life was written? Or was it 100% chance that they were on that very exact bridge at that exact moment in time when the structure happened to collapse? The odds on that must be astounding considering how long that bridge had held firm.

Is it God...pre determined fate....or pure chance? The answer to this would show if we as humans truly have free will or not. Do we live a random existence? Or is this laid out for us long in advance and we are merely acting out a role? The deeper you get into the concept of fortune or luck, the more possibilities seem to exist.

Originally posted by BlackOps719

I definately understand what you mean, outlook and attitude can make a world of difference when determining a persons quality of life. That would account for a certain percentage of things in regards to human fortune. But the fact remains, bad things happen to good people every day. Some may respond better to hardship and life's trials than others, some may have a better attitude toward these types of things, but it doesnt change the fact that they have had misfortune or bad luck affect them.

.

what would you define as bad luck? or "bad things" for that matter? death? as sad or tragic as it can be that can still be looked at as a perfectly natural occurrence. what else would you attribute to "bad luck"?

Death is inevitable, we will all bite the bullet one day. But sure, overwhelming death like the children in Sudan and other third world countries, millions of AIDs orphans throughout the world. Is that bad luck for the kids, or is that Gods plan for them? Is it just a random turn of events that one person is born into death and poverty while another is born into priveledge? Because if it isn't just crappy luck, that means that someone or something would be responsible for their situation that, by no choice of their own, they were placed into and forced to deal with.

If random events and pure mathematical coincidence does not determine your circumstances and your "luck" or situation in life, then who or what does determine those things? Think about it on the most basic level, something is responsible for the things around you, life, the earth, and everything that takes place there in. You basically are forced to believe in one or the other, either life is random and there is no order, it is all one big freak occurance through millions of years of mutation and genesis. Or you believe that there is a higher power (i.e. God, Allah, energy, the cosmos, alien life) that created all of it. Which means that when people are born there is no lottery, everything that heppens to that person through out their life time is planned and has purpose.

My question is, why are certain people placed into horrible conditions while others have it so good? Why does one person suffer from brain cancer while another does not? Why would one person be randomly killed during a convenience store robbery? What determines a mans fate? Is it pre ordained or is it pure chance? I realize this is a lot to take a stab at, but really, what makes one mans fate good and another mans not so good? Are our lives tests, trials of some sort? Could it be that the stronger a soul has become from previous life experience, the more obstacles that are placed before them in the next? Certainly this strays a slight bit from the basic topic of luck, but in the end it is all the same thing.

Originally posted by BlackOps719


My question is, why are certain people placed into horrible conditions while others have it so good? Why does one person suffer from brain cancer while another does not? Why would one person be randomly killed during a convenience store robbery? What determines a mans fate? Is it pre ordained or is it pure chance? I realize this is a lot to take a stab at, but really, what makes one mans fate good and another mans not so good? Are our lives tests, trials of some sort? Could it be that the stronger a soul has become from previous life experience, the more obstacles that are placed before them in the next? Certainly this strays a slight bit from the basic topic of luck, but in the end it is all the same thing.

i think if you take the mystical/god/everything has a reason angle then it becomes clearer.

because one was born in a modern society with more advantages instead of a third world country doesnt mean "someone" put them there.
if your parents were from some kind of impoverished nation and gave birth to you THERE just means they didnt leave there before you were born. so, if the nation has less money going towards education (ie, less tools for gaining knowledge) then the odds are you won't be as educated. that doesnt mean you couldnt be a genius naturally. its just that you have less opportunity(tools to work with) living in that specific area. but we all know the human being is flexible when necessity rises( just look at survival stories).

now think of this, why does someone take those kind of circumstances and use them as a crutch and what makes someone else leave that and become much more? is that dumb luck, fate or pure determination and the human spirit to make your life better? some things you think are obstacles are just minor setbacks to a goal that will eventually be achieved to another.



[edit on 8/4/2007 by homeskillet]

Originally posted by BlackOps719

But the fact remains, bad things happen to good people every day. Some may respond better to hardship and life's trials than others, some may have a better attitude toward these types of things, but it doesnt change the fact that they have had misfortune or bad luck affect them.

So what causes it?

"Flowers love the sunshine, but it's the rain that makes them grow."

If you want the author on that one it's me.

If we are to grow and flourish in this life we need a balance. I would love it if all my days were spent in the sunshine and having a great time. I know that if I am to grow I must also have the rain.

It's an age old question, "Why do bad things happen to good people?"

It is because if they are to continue to learn and grow and become better and wiser, they must have all of the experience's life has to offer.

Bad things happen to good people because those people need the lessons that the experiences have to offer.

Thats just my take on it,

wupy

That, Mr. Wupy, is what I was looking for. So you are one who believes that life must be pre ordained, set forth by a higher power and for a higher purpose. Otherwise there would be no lesson to learn or any need for a lesson at all, it would be purely random activity with no rhyme or reason associated. Just a universal paradox, all occuring by complete chance.

So now that we have established that yes, indeed, there is more to a human life than simple random statistical occurance, that brings me back to one of my initial questions : what is the purpose of this challenge set before you? And who in fact is issuing such challenge? From here I believe that you can take the stance of a higher God or power who confronts you with trials and tribulations aong the way, set forth to make you a better, well balanced human being (life lessons, morals etc) On the other hand it strikes me as odd that we, man kind, are being manipulated on a daily basis and have little or no control over our own fate. That bothers me, to believe that no matter what I do to counter it, my life has already been written and laid out before me. It makes me feel complete powerlessness (sp?) and I hate to think that we are all here just going through the motions and nothing more.

That the hurdles we feel are a simple part of life are in fact set forth by a higher power, i.e. God. AGAIN...what determines a mans fate? What reasoning could be used to justify one person having a more difficult path than say , his neighbor? Has he imbuked some sort of harsh punishment from the creator of said path? Is it that perhaps God is cruel to some and kind to others? If that be the case, what sort of God would be impartial or unfair, considering that according to most accounts God is perfection personified? It seems to me that this would indicate little reasoning involved when determining the laws of our universe, and as such do not indicate to me that it is the working of a God as you or I would know it.

They say that God works in mysterious ways, and perhaps it is just that. Perhaps we have difficulty understanding the divine reasoning behind why some things are the way they are and should just accept it as such. Unfortunately for me that seems to amount to just one big cop out, blindly accepting what you can't easily understand. Although there are traces of divine reasoning all around us, intelligent design if you will, there seems to be quite a bit lacking and left without any real solid explanation or reasoning.

It is like asking your mother "why is the sky blue" and her response being "because I said so". I suppose this is where the whole "faith" concept comes into play. I am stuck at a crossroads here, the world and all of its magnificent glory seem to scream out to me that the hand of a divine being is at work. I have a hard time believing that all of this just happened at random over millions of years of evolution and survival. However some of the things that God allows to happen here on Earth do not make any sense, and in many ways chalk this "God" up to being a brute, a tormentor, the proverbial fat kid with the magnifying glass wreaking havoc on us all.

I began this thread in an attempt to figure out perhaps what might influence a persons luck or fate, but I believe I have stumbled into something a bit more complex..lol..forgive me for straying Mods...but it seems that it all ties in to each other. Random fortune or divine intervention? You decide. Perhaps it is my feeble human brain attempting to understand the unexplainable, but if in fact there is a God responsible for life, a divine creator if you will, then I would be led to believe that this God is unjust, unfair and full of contempt for man kind. Maybe the old testament fire and brimstone version was correct, only add a sick sense of humor. Vengeful God.....or Random occurance?? The only two possible explanations as I can see it. Please correct me if I am wrong

Originally posted by BlackOps719
However some of the things that God allows to happen here on Earth do not make any sense, and in many ways chalk this "God" up to being a brute, a tormentor, the proverbial fat kid with the magnifying glass wreaking havoc on us all.

I will not sit here and pretend to know the mind of God. For all I know God is a brute, a tormentor or the proverbial fat kid with a magnifying glass.

Still, I watched the sunrise this morning from my balcony. I had egg's, sausage, biscuits and gravy for breakfest and it was really, really good. The coffee was a little stronger than I like, but I have had worse things to complain about in my life.

I find that if I let God tend to the business of being God, I have a much easier time tending to the business of being me.

The wind blows, the surf rises and falls and the the world turns. I have absolutely no idea why that happens or the reasons behind it.

I am grateful that it does though. I am grateful for this moment that I can be alive and be myself.

Chasing the mind of God has lead men to utter madness. Leaving those things to God and looking within themselves has often lead men to peace.

Well, at least it worked for me.

Love and light,

wupy

Originally posted by mrwupy
Chasing the mind of God has lead men to utter madness. Leaving those things to God and looking within themselves has often lead men to peace.

That is an amazingly powerful and truthful quote, especially the first sentence. Not just anyone would say something like that, I suspect you're quite the fascinating person Wupy.

I envy you Mr Wupy, I wish that I could somehow reach a point of peace within my own life that would allow me to echo those same sentiments and views on life. It would certainly make for a much more serene and fullfilling existence. Perhaps one day I will be able to attain the same level of inner peace and personal satisfaction that you have already seemed to obtain In the end...All you can do is get out there and try your best, right? Thanks for the inspiring read.

How lucky you are can be in the eye of the beholder. Perhaps there could be some angel or demon or higher power helping or hurting someone.

Perhaps God lets events happen because our life is like the blink of an eye and we are here to learn from our experiences about what is right and wrong and how man's freedom of choice and free will can have very negative effects. Perhaps when we learn a lesson and do whatever mission we had in life, we die and our soul pops right back down here again to start over. If everyone believed our souls could pop back or be reborn into anyone on this planet, we might all be a lot luckier and more caring.

reply to post by orionthehunter




Perhaps you are right. It is the uncertainty which makes most people on edge. I think that mostly people are just searching for some rhyme or reason to life and it's many down turns. Life can be a slippery slope at times, and it takes a strong individual to persevere in this day and age of doom and gloom.

Im not still not sure if a persons fate is random or manipulated by a higher power. Maybe it is relative to how we have behaved in a previous life. That whole karma thing taking us to school for past transgressions.

So as we approach the Christmas season, I would still like to ask, Do you feel lucky punk? Well, do ya?

When I was a young kid. I was dub the nickname Lucky. Which some people close to me still call me.

I got the nickname because I was very unlucky at a young age. Broke so many bones, seemed like every time in a car it got into a accident, you name it, it happened. If anything bad was going to happen it happened to me.

As I got older my luck changed. Good things started to happen, and the bad luck seems to have stopped.

Now I won't go as far as saying there is some devine intervention reagarding luck. I think you need to look at luck like a statistic problem.

There are x= # of bad things that could happen in a possible outcome
There are x= # of good things that could happen in a possible outcome.

Sometimes you will fall in the standard deviation of all bad outcomes, and sometimes all good outcomes. Compare it to flipping a coin 100 times. You may end up getting heads 60 out of the 100 times. But if you keeping flipping the coin you will eventually get a 50/50 split.

So my theory is that no matter how good/bad your luck is, it will change. It has to.

Good Luck = When Opportunity meets Preparedness

- Con