Ernest Hemingway once said: “The world breaks everyone. and afterward ,many are strong in the broken places.”
When we are going through adversity, it is not always possible to believe that everyone suffers loss and heartache. It feels and acts very personal when bad luck and rotten life experiences happen to good people.
Our first response is “Why Me?” We may question whether we did something to deserve this punishment or trouble. We may feel resentment for others who are not suffering and question why trouble did not choose them. We may even add up all the bad, selfish and dishonest things a certain friend or acquaintance has done and yet still has good health and a big bank account.
It’s Not Fair
Life isn’t fair. As a mother of six children I tried to hard at Christmas time to make the gifts come out even for everyone. No matter how many times I counted and then made lists and then recounted, on Christmas morning during the bedlam of presents, paper and toys, I would realize it hadn’t been fair. Someone had gotten a watch worth twenty dollars and someone had gotten a bracelet worth three dollars. Some one had gotten the exact doll she wanted and someone else got the one that was in style last year.
We finally decided to recognize and joke that no matter what we did, it was never going to come out even. But the joy was that you knew that the chances were good that one day it would be your turn to get exactly what you wanted. We would often recite the battle cry of large families and pre-schools around the world; “You get what you get, and you don’t throw a fit.”
Luck or Life
Life is filled with luck and also filled with change and chance. As Ernest Hemingway said earlier, we all get broken in some way and it is the broken places that make us strong.
Bad Luck is described as unforeseen occurrence, happenstance and yet good luck is described as prosperity, wealth, windfall, success, advantage, profit and triumph, happiness and blessings. It is often from the luck that the opportunities for growth and development come to us. When we take the chance to growth through loss, grief and adversity, we will become stronger and more resilient. I know this is true, because I have experienced in my own life and the lives of countless friends and family.
Questions To Think About
- Do you consider yourself lucky or unlucky? Why?
- Have you ever said “That’s not fair.” Why?
- What do you think about when bad things happen to you?
- Can you look back in your life and recognize how a certain situation helped you to grow personally and spiritually?
You are a good person and have been drawn to this information for a reason. I have confidence in you and your ability to have a good life for you and your loved ones. If you would like assistance in living a balanced life please go to
Your friend,
Judy Helm Wright aka Auntie Artichoke, family relationship author and keynote speaker
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