It is stated in Aristotle’s Physics that, “There are some who make chance responsible for this cosmos and all worlds.” This idea seems to say that chance is the ultimate truth, that there was the possibility that either nothing would exist or everything that does exist would. It is our fortune then that this Earth and all are present, for had chance tipped the other way, there would simply be a void. Since it so happened that chance resulted in our universe, the trend must continue. Chance must spawn more chance. It is only by chance then that any action, event, or occurrence happens. Everything and anything can be traced back to chance.
If I were to strike and light a match, it would only be by chance that I managed to produce a flame. It is only by chance that I thought of lighting a match and not instead to go swimming. It is only by chance that I acquired the match and wasn’t run over before ever having reached the store. It is only by chance that the match stick didn’t break as I struck it. All of these things can be traced to more chance too. Humans, as well as plants and animals, have learned to influence chance in our favor though. Every decision we make is the split-second involuntary calculation of chance.
What happens then when we cannot calculate chance so that we are at an advantage? What forces are at play when there are an ace and a king face down in front of you and you are asked to pick the ace? Is it by fortune then that you pick right? Is it possible for certain individuals to be more predisposed to good fortune? Can they be lucky?
I definitely have come across the same question myself. Actually, this morning while my roommates and I were out to breakfast I questioned why some people have a lack of good fortune. I was watching on TV last night Hollywood’s top 15 tragedies. And of course one of them was Christopher Reeve and his wife. After his death, she was diagnosed with lung cancer and the tumor was inoperable. She died just a year and a half after him leaving a son behind. I was thinking how awful that was for a person so kind and stood by all those years to help her husband. But maybe there is something greater that we don’t understand controlling our luck or good fortune. Maybe it was meant for them to be together and death was the best way? I don’t really know, but it is very unexplainable why some have an abundance of good luck and others have none.
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