Bad luck for the team..!
Views From Abroad
Robert Clements
Monday, May 24, 2010 - It’s sheer bad luck India lost!” said Tom as he walked with me this morning. “Bad luck or was it bad playing?” I asked. “They deserved to win!” he said.“With the kind of partying and lack of exercise they deserved to have lost,” I said.“It’s bad luck!” he said again and I didn’t bother arguing with him and spoil my morning walk, but I remembered an old friend of mine, Samuel. Sam had decided to sit for the radio officer’s course many, many years ago. This course was followed by an exam conducted by the government, and after every exam we met at his home where he stayed with his mother:“What happened son?” asked the old lady as she greeted her son on his return.
“The stupid fellow behind me sneezed!” said Sam on one occasion.“So?” I asked.“I couldn’t concentrate!” said Sam.“Bad luck!” whispered his mother to me, shaking her head at the ceiling.
How easily we blame luck and circumstances for our failures! In the 1920s, Ernest Hemingway learned something about “bad luck” and getting kicked by life. He was struggling to make his mark as an author when disaster struck. He lost a suitcase containing all his manuscripts — many stories he’d polished to jewel-like perfection — which he’d been planning to publish in a book.The devastated Hemingway couldn’t conceive of redoing his work. All those months of arduous writing were simply wasted.
He lamented his predicament to friend and poet Ezra Pound who called it a stroke of good fortune! Pound assured Hemingway that when he rewrote the stories, he would forget the weak parts; only the best material would reappear. He encouraged the aspiring author to start over with a sense of optimism and confidence. Hemingway did rewrite the stories and eventually became a major figure in American literature. I wish my friend Tom would stop blaming things on luck and learn instead that you have to win despite it and that negative factors bring out better performance..! Don’t pray for fewer problems; pray for more skills. Don’t ask for smaller challenges; ask for greater wisdom. Don’t look for an easy way out; look for the best possible outcome. When life gives you a kick, let it kick you forward..! And here’s something to make you smile:
A woman was being rushed to hospital but couldn’t make it to the delivery room and started giving birth to a baby in the elevator of the hospital. When she complained about the location, a nurse said, “Why, this isn’t so bad; last year a woman delivered her baby out on the front lawn.” “Yes,” said the woman with a grin, “That was me, looks like my luck is improving!” I hope our Indian team reads this piece..!
“The stupid fellow behind me sneezed!” said Sam on one occasion.“So?” I asked.“I couldn’t concentrate!” said Sam.“Bad luck!” whispered his mother to me, shaking her head at the ceiling.
How easily we blame luck and circumstances for our failures! In the 1920s, Ernest Hemingway learned something about “bad luck” and getting kicked by life. He was struggling to make his mark as an author when disaster struck. He lost a suitcase containing all his manuscripts — many stories he’d polished to jewel-like perfection — which he’d been planning to publish in a book.The devastated Hemingway couldn’t conceive of redoing his work. All those months of arduous writing were simply wasted.
He lamented his predicament to friend and poet Ezra Pound who called it a stroke of good fortune! Pound assured Hemingway that when he rewrote the stories, he would forget the weak parts; only the best material would reappear. He encouraged the aspiring author to start over with a sense of optimism and confidence. Hemingway did rewrite the stories and eventually became a major figure in American literature. I wish my friend Tom would stop blaming things on luck and learn instead that you have to win despite it and that negative factors bring out better performance..! Don’t pray for fewer problems; pray for more skills. Don’t ask for smaller challenges; ask for greater wisdom. Don’t look for an easy way out; look for the best possible outcome. When life gives you a kick, let it kick you forward..! And here’s something to make you smile:
A woman was being rushed to hospital but couldn’t make it to the delivery room and started giving birth to a baby in the elevator of the hospital. When she complained about the location, a nurse said, “Why, this isn’t so bad; last year a woman delivered her baby out on the front lawn.” “Yes,” said the woman with a grin, “That was me, looks like my luck is improving!” I hope our Indian team reads this piece..!
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