A broken mirror and the luck of practice

When I was a little girl, I broke a mirror. It was one of those tall mirrors that could be purchased at Wal-mart for five or ten dollars. A rectangular shape, used to reflect an entire body.

The mirror shattered into a million pieces, or at least that is what it felt like in my six-year-old mind. I cried and mourned the seven years of bad luck that I would now be required to live. Seven years of bad luck! I did the math to figure out how old I would be when my curse of bad luck wore off.

As tears fell down my young face and my chest ached in what I now recognize as anxiety, I noticed how the broken pieces stuck together in their brokenness. The puzzle of different shapes and sizes created art.

I was alone with my mind, wondering what sort of evils I would experience from this curse of bad luck. I bargained with myself, questioning the myth I had heard. I grew curious, was there something I could do to break the spell? Was this really true, a broken mirror creates seven years of bad luck?

If I could hold that little girl now, I would tell her that we make our own luck. I can still be caught making wishes on shooting stars, the clock reading 11:11, and everything from eyelashes to birthday candles. These wishes, now, are more an intention of the magic I know is inside of me. I think quite a lot about how I can make my own luck, how I can get out of my own way and align myself with the good stuff.

One way that I make my own luck is through practice. Luck implies that it is out of our control and I agree to an extent. I don't believe we are entitled to the results of our efforts, this is where surrender and trust come in. I do believe we have control over the intention and action that we offer on our path. This is how we create our own luck, by aligning and practicing who and how we want to be.

The goddess, Lakshmi, is the Lady of Luck, the Lucky Lady. Her magic is accessed from the appreciation we feel in this moment, the beauty that we see in this moment, the love that we feel in this moment. Her promise is one of abundance, there is always more, and we must begin right where we are by practicing seeing the love, beauty, and abundance in this moment. Then, the Goddess of Luck, may hold a mirror and reflect the very things we're practicing.