I was raised with an Irish blessing that unknowingly helped guide me through life. The prayer was displayed on the wall of our humble kitchen. I remember that it was carved out of wood with delicately painted green shamrocks around the verso. The blessing was like this:
“May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm on your face,
and may the rains fall gently on your fields.
And until we meet again
may God hold you in the palm of his hand.” (Author unknown)
My mother was 100% Irish and she loved this blessing because the message reflected her intention to teach her four children to appreciate the simple things in life and that God is always present. She felt that we were lucky by mother nature from our ancestral Irish blood. She took great pride in the strength and resourcefulness of her ancestors. She taught me that I was lucky to be born Irish, even though I am only 50%. I quickly learned to blame the unfortunate events in my life on the other half of my inheritance that came from my alcoholic father. Despite growing up in a crazy and chaotic home, I learned to value the intangible gift of feeling supported by the divine as in this Irish blessing. The image of the sun on my face, illuminating my path and the wind at my back urging me to keep going led me through many difficult passages. I have been sustained by the gift of Mother Nature who showers my dreams with rain so that my hope and faith in myself and in life can grow. And finally, the image of God holding me like a holy child, gives me a feeling of protection and care.
My mom always reminded me and my three brothers that when the going got tough, the luck of the Irish was always with us. As we struggled with poverty and alcoholism in our home, she was steadfast in her perspective that we were lucky because there were people so much worse than us. If we forgot how lucky we were to live in a small house in the country, she would load the four children in the car and drive to the center of the city where the children had no yards to play. She also reminded us of our ancestors who survived the great potato famine in Ireland and that we come from a rich lineage. She located memories of her own childhood, herself being one of ten children who shared two rooms. She would later tell us how the ten children grew up and graduated from college despite their frugal upbringing.
Looking back, I now see that I was programmed to feel lucky from a young age. This sense of luck had nothing to do with fame or fortune. Instead, the luck I was taught was to count my blessings and trust God no matter what. I also learned that if I worked hard and sacrificed my short-term goals for long-term rewards, I would live a lucky life. So even though every once in a while I would look at others and think they were luckier than me because they had more material gains, more knowledge, traveled the world, or seemed more successful than me, I would stop and remember that simple Irish blessing and give thanks. that I was being held in the hands of God with the sun on my face and the wind at my back. May the luck of the Irish be with you too.