I’m a big fan of group brainstorming and free association and curious mental twists. In a certain mood I can even vibe with Rorschach tests and games that interpret cloud shapes in the sky (Look! There’s a duck-billed platypus!). Similarly I love a good paradox and wordplay in poetry forms ranging from odes to sonnets to nasty limericks. What all these things have in common is the potential for original ideas, and that’s what really sets my soul on fire.
It’s been said that there are no new ideas anymore, just pieces of old ideas recombined in novel ways. I disagree. In fact, I am responsible for at least one original idea having to do with what creates luck and good fortune in our lives.
Everybody knows the usual suspects. There are tons of “It’s good luck when…” sayings and beliefs out there. These include things like your right palm itching or a bird pooping on you signaling good money luck coming, rain on your wedding day for cleansing luck, finding a four leaf clover for general luck, seeing a rainbow for majestic luck, or eating twelve grapes at midnight on New Year’s Eve for luck in the twelve months ahead, which I learned came from Spain.
The fact is that someone had to first come up with an original idea of luck equaling a specific act, even if that act is “just” seeing. Then the idea got talked about and sold forward to others and adopted by a larger group, culture, society, country or beyond. A good luck saying gets accepted as a normal course of affairs in human life, regardless of how strongly you buy it or not. And that leads me right to my original idea about luck, one that I hope is adopted worldwide and taken for granted in generations to come: if you catch a falling leaf before it hits the ground it will bring you good luck.
Of course this becomes most pertinent every autumn. Growing up in the north I was able to spend hours and hours in the colorful woods every fall and have felt the power in the annual shedding of the oaks, maples, birches, sweetgum trees, and more. I’ve stood in the midst of swirling winds with leaves cascading down like water from a mighty stream. The idea of catching them as a fun pursuit is one that I’m sure many kids and kid-like adults have had. Possibly they’ve also experienced the realization that it can be tougher than it looks as those bits or colorful delights twist and turn to the ground. But I’ve never heard of someone saying catching one in the air produces good luck.
I became convinced of this phenomenon years ago after blurting it out to my son one afternoon as we chased leaves. I told him with confidence that if he caught one it would bring him good luck. He was seven and still bought into most of what dad said. It was also around that time that I told him, as we waited in TSA airport line, that if he had any holes in his socks they weren’t going to let him fly, causing a minor panic. Today he listens less even as I think I have more pertinent wisdom to share than I used to. Anyway, the thing is that as soon as the words left my mouth, I knew that they were true. It was a white-light spiritual violation that pierced all the self-doubt nonsense that usually kicks in when such moments of gut realization occur. Instead of analyzing it away, I just kept repeating it to people over the years whenever I got the chance.
This variety of certainty reminds me of a quote attributed to Native American writer and storyteller Simon Ortiz, “I do not know if these things happened, but I know that they are true.” That’s how I feel about the luck produced by catching leaves. It’s a legend in my mind and a myth to live by (and it just happens to be true).
In the current state of our world, somewhere between confusion and chaos, we need all the luck we can get. The kind of luck that is a multiplier of goodwill and a rallying cry for belief. It paves the way for grace, hope, and kindness. So here I present to you a new idea about how to create luck in life. All it takes is getting outside, keeping your eyes peeled for falling leaves, and throwing your arms and heart wide open.
