Spot on essay! I have always known that "There, but for the grace of God, go I" even though I am a complete atheist.😉 The fact of the matter is that luck has played a significant role in my life. All the near misses, and I am still kicking. All the people loved and lost, and yet I still love. Persistence in life, with a good bit of luck, generated or found, is key to a life well lived.
OMG - such simple and honest thoughts, reasonable and clear; you sound like a Kansan! 65 years ago at Wichita Southeast High, when a fellow student ( not me, but certainly could have been) expressed surprise and disdain that some others did not study hard in order to improve their lives, our social studies teacher, Mel Schroeder, congratulated him for having “ chosen your parents so well”. I don’t know if Mel, or someone else taught you THE LESSON, or if you learned it on your own! No matter, the certainty of the “ LUCK OF OURSELVES” remains truth !
Totally correct, and my bad, shows my aging. Ed was my law school classmate, brilliant, and as you know he tragically died last year. The world lost a terrific person, great lawyer and teacher. I should have mentioned him in the piece, doing it now belatedly via this comment
This is brilliant! I have often thought of the random events in my and others’ lives that have shaped us, for bad and good. Too many times when I’ve started to give myself a pat on the back for something good which has happened to me, I’ve tried, not always successfully, to stop myself and remind myself it was just good luck. It is much tougher when things go wrong, however, to say I don’t deserve it.
Trying to focus on gratitude a lot more!
And totally agree with you about the political sphere!
Spot on essay! I have always known that "There, but for the grace of God, go I" even though I am a complete atheist.😉 The fact of the matter is that luck has played a significant role in my life. All the near misses, and I am still kicking. All the people loved and lost, and yet I still love. Persistence in life, with a good bit of luck, generated or found, is key to a life well lived.
OMG - such simple and honest thoughts, reasonable and clear; you sound like a Kansan! 65 years ago at Wichita Southeast High, when a fellow student ( not me, but certainly could have been) expressed surprise and disdain that some others did not study hard in order to improve their lives, our social studies teacher, Mel Schroeder, congratulated him for having “ chosen your parents so well”. I don’t know if Mel, or someone else taught you THE LESSON, or if you learned it on your own! No matter, the certainty of the “ LUCK OF OURSELVES” remains truth !
What a wonderful comment, and thanks so much for writing!
Excellent Bob. I totally agree!
Bob
A recent book by Edward Kleinbard is on point and very interesting. You should take a look.
Les Samuels
“What's Luck Got to Do with It?: Rescuing the American Dream Through Smarter Government”
by Edward D Kleinbard
Totally correct, and my bad, shows my aging. Ed was my law school classmate, brilliant, and as you know he tragically died last year. The world lost a terrific person, great lawyer and teacher. I should have mentioned him in the piece, doing it now belatedly via this comment
Great work. As I read, personal accountability did crop up in my mind, and I appreciate how you approached it.
This is brilliant! I have often thought of the random events in my and others’ lives that have shaped us, for bad and good. Too many times when I’ve started to give myself a pat on the back for something good which has happened to me, I’ve tried, not always successfully, to stop myself and remind myself it was just good luck. It is much tougher when things go wrong, however, to say I don’t deserve it.
Trying to focus on gratitude a lot more!
And totally agree with you about the political sphere!
Much appreciated Ruth. One of the few virtues of growing old is realizing all this, but it took the Kissinger book to induce me to write it
Superb