Good luck (01/27/09)

Good Luck
By: Maria Reylan M. Garcia

Last two minutes. For a second, I thought my eyes were gettingblurrier than they already are. I saw my clinical instructor transforminto a stout man dressed in a black and white shirt tucked in a loosepair of trousers with a silver whistle hanging from his neck. The anxiety rose up as if I was aiming for the winning three-point shot ina basketball championship. I was taking an exam, and I still have twomore questions left unanswered. The choices weren't of any help, sincethey all sound almost similar.

My brain tried to help me out, andgeared to ultimate function, but the nerve cells appeared to transmitsenseless information. Last one minute. I had no choice, although itwasn't my habit I relied on its temptation. I heaved a deep breathand, Ini.. mini.. miny.. moe... The tip of my pen landed twice onletter A for the first number, and letter C for the second. Though Iwas heavy-hearted I subdued myself and wrote my wild guesses. I reliedthose two questions on pure luck.

Luck, for some people, is already listed in their roster of basicneeds in surviving life's jungle. The growing demand for reliable FengShui experts sets furniture into the most unusual positions in yourliving room, assuring you that placing your couch just a few meters onthe left of your toilet bowl will bring you good tidings. The eternalmarket of psychic hotlines and sidewalk fortune tellers foresees theimmortality of their crystal balls, guaranteeing you that Mr. Right will be the 999th man you'll meet tomorrow. The emergence ofhoroscopes in almost every print media have given others more reasonsto read the entertainment section other than the comic strips, makingthem believe that the pinching Scorpio will find great acquaintancewith double-team Gemini. Our lifestyle today had been one way oranother tainted by the belief of luck.

As I would see it, we would usually rely on luck when all that's leftis luck itself. I had no clue on what to answer on those two items onmy exam, even if my brain could have suffered countless episodes ofseizures, it won't be of any help. My old noodle has failed me. I amafraid of taking chances and I want to be always sure. In short, Iain't a risk-taker. But since I'd rather have the 25% of getting rightthan leaving those two items blank and tremble at 0% chance, I usedthe last sixty seconds to chant and hum the melody of pure luck. Theidea of luck may seem reckless, unsure and in most cases unfair. If one person gets the luck, the other one will certainly suffermisfortune.

Those multi-million winners of lotteries may certainly beobjects of jealously for some unfortunate gamblers. Those apprehensivecontestants on any game show which involves spinning wheels or 26brief cases would certainly keep their fingers cross after making sucha wild and bold decision to deny the hundred thousand offer and go forthe million. But, the idea of luck gives life more flavor and zest;you keep going on because you wanted to achieve that luck. Luck, inone way or another, in the quest for it, strengthens hope.I would often hear people say, "Luck is on your side." Then I thoughtof how luck came to be on anyone's side.

The world revolves around thegive-and-receive principle; you receive luck but you have to givesomething as well. Those who have luck tailing their behinds mighthave done something to deserve such luck. They could have suffered alot in the past, extended help and assistance to others or refrainedfrom doing mischievousness. A successful restaurant owner who wouldn'thave less than five hundred hungry customers per day could havesuffered a decade of struggle to the extent of eating less than threetimes day.

We need to work for luck, standing there; stagnant andstationary, it won't get you anywhere. Even if you spend your lifetimeinside a casino, just standing inside a casino with all the chancesand opportunities for you to have tens of thousands in one gamble, butyou didn't take risks, luck may never find his way to you.I must have done something good before our exam, that when we checkedour papers, I got a perfect score, getting correct on every itemincluding those two significant ones that were out of pure luck. Itmay have also been the three consecutive daily quizzes I had thatweren't satisfactory to my satisfaction, thus I suffered someconsiderable amount of regret and misery. But whatever the case, I knew I deserved that luck.

Yet, I won't always rely on it. I'll justmake sure that I have done everything and exhausted all until I'll seek for its help.

For whatever you are going to do later,I wish you Good luck.