by Anna CampbellThis is a picture of the lucky bamboo plant that my good friend and fellow writer Amy Andrews gave me several months ago. It's still alive in my less than tender care which means it's definitely a LUCKY bamboo plant! I'm not the greatest person with pot plants as the sad dried-up corpses of all my previous pot plants will attest!
Apparently feng shui says it's good luck to have something green and alive in your workspace. I'll take anything I can get, frankly, especially at the moment as I'm in the early stages of a new story. And I must say my bamboo always makes me smile and feel good, so that's lucky in itself.
Do you believe in luck? I do - but I think the luckiest people are the ones who work hard to make sure that they're in a position to take advantage of whatever luck comes their way. As a writer, it's lucky if you get the judges to like your work and give you the marks to win a contest, or if you place your work in front of an editor or agent who gets what you're trying to do and decides that they'll go into bat to have your work published. Those, and a thousand other variables, are completely outside your control in this business.
But writing the best piece of work you can is something within your control so then you're in a position to take advantage of any luck that happens your way. So perhaps I feel fortune favors the brave! Luck plays a huge part in any writing career but you'll be luckier if you make sure everything you can control is as good as you can get it.
On a smaller scale in terms of cosmic good fortune, I've just put up my March/April contest on my website. I've had a spring clean (although we're moving into autumn here in Australia!) of my prize cupboard and come up with four great signed books that I'll give away to one lucky entrant who answers a simple question. The prizes are For the Sheikh's Pleasure by Annie West, Rescue at Cradle Lake by Marion Lennox, Scandal's Daughter by Christine Wells and Bride of Shadow Canyon by Stacey Kayne. Fantastic reads, all of them! You can check the details out here. Good luck!
So how big a part has luck played in your life? Are you superstitious? Do you have special rituals or talismans you think make you lucky?
13 comments:
@i Anna,
I believe in luck, sometimes I feel that I have it, but when bad things happen, I don't consider it bad luck. I'm not really superstitious.
Hi Anna,
Oh yes, I believe in luck. I also believe that having a positive attitude can make you lucky. You know... if you believe it, you can will good things to happen.
My lucky number it 7. I was born on the seventh at seven minutes before 7:00am in the morning.
I do have a necklace my husband gave me years ago on an anniversary that I touch to make me feel better knowing it is there.
I don't give into the beliefs of black cats and broken mirrors, but I could see if you truly believed something to be bad luck that bad things might happen to you just because you were expecting it.
You take care of that lucky bamboo plant. I hear they are quite easy to care for and they really are lovely.
I don't believe in luck; if good things happen or I win something than I am lucky.
I am not superstitious but obviously will not walk under ladders because I could get hurt if it would happen to fall.
I think Robynl said it for me too. I don't believe in luck, but feel lucky when I win something. Don't care if a black cat crosses my path or if I break a mirror. I won't walk under a ladder because of possible falling objects.
It has always been my philosophy that luck is what you make of it and I am not superstitious nor to I have any lucky charms, chants, talismen, etc.
BTW, congrats on keeping the plant alive. I have the proverbiable 'brown thumb'. Any potted plant put in my care is sure to die...no matter how much I talk to it.
I believe that some people are lucky,
I'm not sure that I am one of them!
My mother was, she would mention that
she needed to replace an item in her
house and she would get a bingo win!
She also had the greenest thumb I
have ever known of. Unfortunately,
she didn't pass either of those
abilities on to me! Thanks for
blogging with us today!!
Pat Cochran
Dina, I'm a bit like you. Yes, I think luck exists but I'm not really superstitious. My mother was - I honestly think I could write a book about some of the things she used to do! And like Pat's mum, she was a bit woo-woo. Sadly, I'm completely untalented in that area!
Gigi, thanks so much for your comment. I'm really fond of my bamboo plant (I hope it's still alive - I've been away from home for 10 days!). How amazing about all the 7s in your life.
Robyn, giggled at your ladder feeling. You're right. Often there is a sensible basis in superstitions! Thanks for your comment.
Karen, you and I need help with our pot plant care, obviously! ;-) I've tried so many over the years and sadly they've all just visited me to die...
Pat, thanks for your comment. My mother's psychic gifts were a bit erratic - but when she really got THAT feeling, she was absolutely uncanny. Unfortunately, big wins in the lotto never really were her thing.
I believe in luck, but don't have a lot of it.
I am not superstitious.
I don't know if I believe in luck or not. If there is such a thing as luck I am not a very lucky person. I just think things happen for a reason wheather its good or bad.
I just went to your website and the March/April contest was not showing.
I always feel lucky when I win something but as to being a lucky person I guess it would depend on how you looked at it. As I look around me I am luckier than a lot of people, but as to luck for winning a lottery or something like that then nope have no luck at all.
I am not a superstitious person, although I too would not walk under a ladder, because of the hazard it presents.
Estella, here's a good luck wish to you from Australia.
Virgina, thanks so much for your comment. Sorry for the glitch with the contest (I've been away and haven't had email). Hopefully the details will go up in the next 24 hours. Misunderstanding (totally my fault) with my web designer. Basically, I'm asking people to email me on anna@annacampbell.info with their favorite season of the year and why. I hope you'll still enter - they're great prizes!
Cryna, laughing at how ladders definitely seem to be on EVERYBODY's list! I agree with you about luck - yes, I'm lucky in so many ways. But when it comes to things like raffle tickets or lottery tickets, forget about it!
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