Stroke of Luck

I think it is fair to say that almost everyone, on some level, would like to be lucky or, at least, think they are. Now I am not talking about a 'win the lottery' kind of lucky, but just your 'run of the mill things are working out for you' sort of feeling. I yearn for that feeling, spend countless time throughout the day trying to imagine how it might feel to be lucky, to have something work out in my favor. I am truly not as negative and whiny as I sound but I am beaten and exhausted from all the struggling and stress. So here is my question...can luck be changed ( and it's obvious correlate...where and how do I start?)?

Before we explore this any further, please let go of the suggestion that I need to be more positive or thankful. Believe me I am more than thankful for my amazing children and more than grateful that they are healthy. I used to be a lot more optimistic until things starting going wrong consistently, never turning around. We cannot catch a break.  Everyone has to handle difficult times but then they eventually move forward, everyone, it seems, except a select few who become mired in the hard times seemingly unable to pull it together and pull through.  Remember Brittany Spears and the head shaving incident?  I kind of get it now. Despite all your effort to turn it around and change the situation, you remain mired there, sometimes sinking even lower than you had ever thought possible.

So how does luck change?  Two people told me that I have bad juju (vibes or spirits) and that a good place to start a change would be to burn sage and cleanse each and every room of my house. Honestly, me-matches-house, not a good combo right now. My effort to rid my house of bad spirits would probably render us all homeless standing next to a pile of ashes. Another friend suggested an exorcist (I do remind myself of Linda Blair of late, totally possessed) but I doubt I will be able to find a priest who will perform the ritual.

So I am stumped. We have prayed, searched, changed our outlook, reduced our standards, made wishes on everything from stars to certain times of the day (my children say ' it is 10:10, make a wish') and still nothing changes.  I have tried to be positive and consistent with my children so that their outlooks are not colored by my own but my little guy asked me once if I really believed all the optimistic sentiment that comes out of my mouth. Truth be told, I would be lying if I told him I did but let's just keep that to ourselves, okay?