LUCK OF THE IRISH?

I suppose most of us have heard the phrase “Luck of the Irish”, but I wonder if many of us know the history of it. Do we just assume it must have something to do with a four leaf clover or a leprechaun? And if there truly is luck in such things, why aren’t we all out in a field looking for the rare clover with an extra leaf?

I think these old phrases are funny, especially when you know the history! I remember when I was a child, my mother would say, “You better watch your P’s and Q’s!”. How funny it was to discover that the P stands for pints and the Q stands for quarts and they both refer to beer! I bet that if my mother were alive today she would have a big laugh on herself for saying that to her under age children.

As it turns out, the phrase, “Luck of the Irish” was coined during the gold rush days. To the miners, the Irish seemed to find the gold more often. The association with the gold must be why the story has the leprechaun searching for the pot of gold, right?

According to Ancestry, I am about 90% British, but none of it is Irish. However, that fact will not prevent me from celebrating the upcoming holiday. I intend to have some corn beef and I might even chase it with a beer, all while wearing something green to keep from getting pinched!

As an end of life guide, I have been witness to hundreds of people who transitioned from life, and even with all that luck, it didn’t save the the Irish. Truth is, death never even heard the word luck! It doesn’t play favorites and it doesn’t spare anyone. For that matter, none of us are lucky or unlucky at the end of our life, we are just at the end of our life!

Personally, I see life as a blessing and the things that happen which make me unhappy are there to contrast the things that happen which makes me happy. How can I decide what I like and prefer if I never experience the opposite? It’s all relative, right? And besides, life is only lucky or unlucky when I decide to see it that way.

For me, I plan to be lucky every moment of my life, to the last breath, because I said so! Another favorite phrase of my mother’s.