The Western concept of luck can be summed up by the way we define it. The definition I found in my home copy of the Collins English Dictionary of luck is:
“1. Events that are beyond control and seem subject to chance; fortune”.
This concept of “beyond control” and “subject to chance” is the key in understanding the Western view to all things lucky or unlucky. To understand any other concept or definition of luck, we need to look at what we think we are, our purpose or fate; what or who are we?
We (in the West) consider ourselves privy to favour by our society, religion and/or philosophy. However we are disadvantaged by limited understanding of what we are. To illustrate, our belief systems are influenced by:
• Our parents
• Our Teachers/Schooling
• Our Society
• Our Culture, Traditions and Locality (Country)
These form our paradigms, the way we see things. Personal paradigms are formed by either accepting information uncritically from an external source, as evidence that satisfies our acceptance or through experience. This in turn affects the way we think about external references and we make decisions based on both the way we think (influenced/guided by our paradigms) and how we perceive circumstances.
To understand the grand plan, we turn to religion, science or philosophy, nothing wrong with that. As a matter of fact, so do our Eastern counterparts. The key difference is what information is being fed to establish early paradigms in our Eastern neighbours that makes the understanding or perspective of ‘Luck’ so different.
In the West we think in terms of rationality, what is logical and reasonable. Things do happen by mere chance, thereby these events are lucky or fortunate. Until recently there is little understanding of the universal connectivity, the inter-relationship of everything.
Resources for
