To ask if you believe you’ve lived a luckier life than most?

[MyAmusedOpalCrab]

Whether it’s down to circumstances, timing, support, or sheer chance - do you ever stop and think, “I’ve had it easier than others?” Or do you believe we mostly make our own luck?

Yep. I think being born in a relatively safe time and country, without any severe life limiting conditions, and without suffering significant abuse makes me luckier than the vast majority of people across the world/history.

All of this was luck and circumstance of birth. I'm proud of the things I've worked hard for, but I try not to forget how heavily the hand I got in life was stacked in my favour.

To be born in the late 20th century with modern healthcare and vaccinations, with clean running water, indoor toilets, washing machines, cookers, microwaves etc and good housing compared to.history, yes very lucky. (enough money to live on if not many extras. )

Compared to fellow British people, not so much. (Two disabilities, several illnesses, two disabled children, single parent, survived DV, CSA, and a difficult upbringing, long term bullying at school, redundancies, town centre/inner city life, arson attack in our complex, a couple of minor car accidents with minor injuries )

Yes, I feel lucky. Both in a 'net beneficiary of being born in the West in the late 20th century', but also in what I have in my life and what I've been able to achieve. I have a lively family, a nice house, an interesting job and have got two degrees and another in progress. I've been able to travel a fair bit, and look forward to doing more in the future if I can sustain my health.

I had a rocky start and have had a few tragedies and false steps, but feel I am pretty resilient.

People born into rich families shouldnt be saying "im so lucky". They should be helping to fix the inequalities in the system

The 2 are not mutually exclusive. Acknowledging one's luck says zero about whether someone also recognises inequalities in our system or not. Or whether they are also seeking to redress the balance.

What a warped perspective, more so because most responses haven't talked about luck in relation to physical wealth but rather an appreciation that they live a better standard of life than many.

I think I am lucky. I lost my mum last year I was just 40. That of course is horrible but I’m lucky I reached the grand only age of 40 until I found out what grief really is. I have a lovely husband and 2 beautiful boys to get me through. I am lucky some people experience grief as kids.

It depends on how you measure things and what you consider lucky.

I feel lucky, I'm sure others wouldn't think so. I have a loving family, good neighbours, friends, I can pay my bills, I'm reasonably healthy, no aches or pains.

I'm technically unlucky as I never won a prize.and don't have a lot of money.

Oh yes. I call myself the luckiest woman in the world.
I had a miserable childhood and adolescence and ended up with a much older man who trafficked me into prostitution, and when I was too old for him he tried to kill me and I ended up homeless and an addict for years.

Doesn't sound very lucky does it!

But I am. I'm the luckiest woman alive. I lived, when I know lots of women who I was made to work with who died, or are still "missing," or addicts or both. When a man took an iron bar to my head it didn't kill me.

I've got a home and it's clean and warm and full of food.
I've got my daughter.
I've got my dog.
I've got my allotment and a job and enough money to live on and I don't have to get on my knees for a penny of it.

I tell my daughter all the time that we're so lucky, we're the luckiest girls in the world.

Most of the posts have talked about physical wealth actually.

“Luck” isn’t just defined by money.

My DM always tells me I’m not a lucky person, but I met my incredible DH and feel like the luckiest woman alive because of it.

I think of it like this.

If everyone in the world was represented by a raffle ticket, if given the choice would you put yours back into the bowl and pull out another one at random instead ?

Yes, very. I have never been hungry. Like really hungry, not just ive missed a meal hungry. In terms of human existence that must be pretty rare. But I am very grateful and am aware that could change very easily.

Ive also always manged to have shelter than was warm, dry and safe and again think this must be rare overal.

@P00hsticks I like that. No I wouldn't.

I'm sorry that happened to you...that is truly awful. I think it's so silly going on about having running water blah blah. I remember one of the school mums was from a tiny village in the Himalayas (not sure how she ended up here as I only spoke to her once).....not a war zone of course but without the luxuries we have here. She thought life here was terrible because everyone was isolated at home. She was used to being with people all day and all the children playing together.

This ^ If you have a good start in life you’re lucky beyond belief

The majority of posts have talked about health, safety and education.

And money.

Do you want me to quote all the threads mentioning being born into rich families, for you?

Yes.

Would you?

@P00hsticks 100 per cent no

Feel free if it would make you happy.
most people are talking about wealth/being rich in global terms rather than in UK terms. But am sure you already know that.

Lots of things in my life have been down to pure luck. Being born to my parents, living in the North of England, my sister, meeting my husband, I’m lucky that I gave the perseverance to end her e multiple cycles of IVF so that I didn’t give up after the first 5! I don’t consider my getting a good job, paying off my mortgage in my 30s, having good holidays and disposable income to be lucky, I’d call it hard work and determination not to get stuck in a low paid job like a lot of my friends with almost identi-kit upbringings have done.

Huge amount of luck. Born in the late 20th century in one of the richest countries in the world to parents who had jobs and a house and were mentally and physically stable. They weren't peasants trying to keep us all alive by planting one grain of corn for every three they got back. I don't think we have any concept of how grindingly poor the majority of humans have been throughout history.

I wasn't giving to be sent up a chimney, sent down the pit or taken as a janissary to the Ottoman court as a child, or raped as a teenager and forced to marry him because I was the one at fault.

Or just die of polio as a toddler.

And my health is decent. I'm only in my 40s but have friends whose lifes are so curtailed by their health.

Obviously I'll still have a whine about the fact that house prices are unreasonable, and they don't make Fuse bars any more, and I don't have a trust fund, and it would be really nice if humans could stop killing each other, but really I'm pretty lucky.

Even with that example, the posters are benefitting from inequality.

Many of the ancestors of the wealthy families in the UK, became wealthy by invading and stealing resources from other countries.

As we all know.

So instead of saying "we are lucky to live in the uk".

We should maybe say

"look at all the suffering that our ancestors from the UK inflicted on the rest of the world,"

To simply be born in the UK (and have parents that are vaguely ok) means that you are luckier than the majority of people in the world. Watch the news.

That’s why I deliberately used the words ‘absolute poverty”. Poverty in developed societies is relative, not absolute.