Luck - A Letter to Aliens

To my alien friends,

There are many humans with belief systems based on logic, observation, and measurement. There are even more humans that believe in things outside of the quantifiable, things that fit their first-person experience in some way that conflicts with the scientific method. I go back and forth on luck.

My mother had always said my brother was lucky, which is why we could always find good parking spots at the grocery store. My sister was lucky too, which is why she would find lost change everywhere we went. Luck is some unobservable energy that increases one’s chances of a more favorable future. Today and most days, I feel lucky to exist. The sunsets where I’m living are vibrant. The roads have never been smoother. Trees have never felt so sturdy.

What were the chances I’d get to exist and observe at all, or the chances I’d spawn as a human – Earth’s Apex predator? What were the odds that I’d come from kind parents? If having a favorable life is uncommon across the planet, then I’m lucky.

All the best,

Reed