Luck Conservation

Do you think that it’s possible to spend luck? While I was playing Love in Deepspace, I came across the fascinating concept of luck conservation, thanks to Xavier.

I looked into it more, and the idea is that luck can be used up or spent. Once you use it up, misfortunes starts happening. It’s like if you experienced a lot of good things in a row, you should be careful after that because the universe might send something to you to restore the balance. There’s even a name for that fear: Cherophobia. It’s the fear of being too happy because you believe something bad will follow. It’s like having trust issues whenever you feel extreme happiness. I used to feel and notice that when I go out with my friends. When I get back home, I’ll have this feeling of unease. I would prepare myself that something bad would happen and eventually something does goes wrong. But was it really bad luck, or was I just so convinced that happiness had consequences that I started looking for proof?

The thing is, luck conservation isn’t real, at least, not in the way we think. It’s a mindset, a superstition we convince ourselves of to maintain a sense of control. In believing in it and in trying to prepare for the worst, all we really do in the end is rob ourselves of the actual moment. We don’t allow ourselves to feel too happy because somewhere in the back of our minds, we’re already bracing for the bad things that might happen. We dull our own joy, as if keeping our happiness at a level will somehow prevent the universe from sending misfortunes our way. But the truth is, life doesn’t work that way. The good things don’t require bad things to follow. Sometimes, happiness is just happiness, and by constantly anticipating the worst, we end up missing the best parts of it. And what a waste that is.