Monday Musings: The Anatomy of Luck
Last year, I was seized by an incredibly strong desire to exhibit my paintings in an art gallery. I get this feeling fairly often. Sometimes I suddenly want to be in a band, or sing opera, or write a memoir and have it published by a respectable publishing house. Last year, I wanted to be An Artist. I was so sure I could make it happen!
Suddenly (and rather randomly), I was invited by an art curator to a show. I went, then attended a couple more openings. But nothing really came of it, mostly because I realized just how much work it takes—not just to make art consistently, but to network in that space and actually get into shows. Eventually, the burning desire faded into a small ember.
Then, the other week, completely out of the blue, that same curator invited me to be part of a group show in a gallery. I was floored! I’m excited, of course, but also nervous—it’s my first time. I felt incredibly lucky to even be considered. But then I started to wonder: how much of it is luck, really? And how much is simply being clear about what I wanted, and being in the right place at the right time?
A landscape painting I made of of a beach in Palawan
Because yes, part of me believes timing is magic. But another part suspects that magic only really works if you’ve done something—anything—to meet it halfway. Maybe this happened because I was crystal clear about what I wanted. Maybe it was because I showed up to those events when I could’ve just stayed home binge-watching Netflix or doom scrolling on my phone.
It’s easy to brush off small actions as meaningless. But what if those impulsive ideas and those “can I even do this?” moments are the ones that clear the way for the things we dream of? I’m a big believer of asking for things even when they feel like a shot to the moon. It’s free to ask. It’s not free to pursue because there’s a price to these things, always. Pressing the start button though, that can happen any time, and anything can happen after. If we want to be lucky, we need to be open and demanding. Does that make sense?
