lucky pig

with chinese new year we enter the year of the pig, a supposedly fortuitous year whose luck is only increased by this being a year of the golden pig. it is a good year to bear children, which has many chinese women stalking the hong kong border trying to avoid their country's one child policy.

i was born in the year of the snake, which according to some sources is the unluckiest year. but according to other sources, snakes are "perhaps the wisest and most enigmatic of all." doesn't sound so bad...

not that i believe in astrology, chinese or otherwise. actually, i don't believe in lucky or unlucky either. there's too much fate for me, it would be too much like believing in god.

however, if i did believe in luck i cannot imagine myself much luckier than i already am. i live a life unoppressed, enjoying myself, safe, doing pretty much exactly what i feel like. i have amazing family and friends. i have enough money to support my whims and travel and enough free time to spend my money. i am healthy, smart and educated. most importantly, i'm happy.

but teaching english i have realized that much of our language assumes bad luck. statements like "as luck should have it..." and "with my luck..." imply that we all think we are quite unlucky. how can this be? i would be willing to bet that most people who use these phrases are among the luckiest in the world.

today's question: do you believe in luck?