When I was about seven years old, I was lying in the grass and clover at my grandparents’ house on a beautiful sunny day, looking up at the blue sky and making out what the clouds looked like with my imagination. I could smell the strong scent of fresh tomatoes on the vine near their shed behind me and felt the slightest breeze washing over me as I lay there. I lived in the city in quite a rough place, so any time I had the chance to visit them, it was a real treat.

Though I was young, I was able to give pause and reflection to my surroundings and really appreciated being present in that moment. It was one of peace and quiet, which I was certainly not used to. I remember it vividly even to this day.

I turned slightly on my left side, and looked into the clover patch when by chance, a little lady bug caught my eye. I was only a kid, but I knew that lady bugs were thought of as good luck. This was back in the 70s, so I don’t quite remember what specific term I used in my head, but I know I thought spotting her was wonderful. Or groovy? Maybe cool. Either way, in my head, good luck was upon me!

I was watching the lady bug move about when she stopped on one of the clovers. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! I blinked a few times, and sat up on my knees, but never removed my eyes from what I was sure I had spied. I started to move the clover patch apart with my fingers as the pretty little beetle stuck her wings out from under her shell and took to the air. But my eyes never wavered from the spot from which she had ascended. I got closer and kept slowly moving the shamrocks back until I was almost completely nose-down to the ground.

And there it was: A FOUR-LEAF CLOVER!

I was polarized. I didn’t know what to do! This precious stem had three normal leaves as we are used to seeing, and right out of the center was a smaller, more delicate leaf. I was excited, but cautious. I didn’t want to run to my grandparents and leave this tiny gem, for fear I would lose it forever. I didn’t want to just go for it and pick it from the soil willy-nilly, for fear I would crush it in my excitement. My heart was pounding out of my chest.

But wait! First, I saw a lady bug, and now this?!? I was quite a lucky girl! So I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, all the while staring at this four-leaf clover. As I reached down, I remember thinking that this shamrock with four petals had unimaginable power. It WAS a symbol of luck after all, right?

I gently reached down with index finger and thumb and moved to pluck the stem as close to the ground as possible. Up it came, and I couldn’t believe it. Still keeping my eyes upon it, even as I held it securely, I stood it up to the sky I had been staring into earlier. I put it into the palm of my hand and covered it with my other hand, so as not to allow the breeze to carry my new good-luck charm away.

I slowly walked it into the house and to my Grandmother. Suppressing the urge to shriek to her what I had found, I calmly expressed my delight at the treasure I was harboring betwixt my palms. With cynicism, she required a look. I slowly opened up the sanctuary of my hands, smiling widely, knowing she would be so proud that her Granddaughter was now the luckiest girl in the world.

To my pleasure, she ooed and awed and confirmed not only was that truly a four-leaf clover, but that it meant that luck was indeed, bestowed upon me. She opened a plastic sandwich baggie and told me to place my clover into it and be ever-so-careful. She boasted to my Grandfather, my aunts and uncle, and even to her neighbors, encouraging me to show them all the plastic baggie of wonder.

As I rode back to the city, my thoughts were filled with show-and-tell the next day at school. I placed the luck-filled baggie gently under my pillow that night and woke up elated at my upcoming presentation that day, which I had rehearsed even in my dreams.

In the auditorium that morning as the classes collected, I told everyone I saw, students and teachers alike. They all stared in wonder, some taking the bag to get a closer look. We walked to our respective classrooms, and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for all the other students, as I was clearly luckier than any other, and my pride swelled. And so did my head.

As I stood up in front of all the poor souls that didn’t share in my luck, the teacher suggested we pass around the plastic bag that held the clover, allowing them to see such wonderment for themselves. Of course I obliged, knowing luck was with me, and I would receive the accolades of my fellow pupils for carrying such good fortune.

I received the bag back to my own protection while finishing my presentation, stuck it in my desk, passed it around at lunch, tucked it in my backpack to take home. I walked home with my head held high, feeling on top of the world.

When I got home, I removed the baggie from my backpack. My heart sank. I blinked quite a few times to make certain what I was seeing was real. And it was real. Much more real than the meek possibility of luck being genuine. There it was, that four-leaf clover, dissected from all the hands of astonishment, in five separate pieces. I wondered how it could be! If the Loch Ness Monster could live for centuries as a good luck symbol, why couldn’t this rarity do the same?

I learned a great lesson that day, even as a child. I learned that life is intricate and delicate, from lady bugs to four-leaf clovers. From warm, breezy days, to the smell of tomatoes on the vine. I learned that we seek and long for tangible explanations to the things we believe bring about good fortune or even bad fortune with our own imaginations. I learned that we make decisions with free will, and that those decisions can either lead to growth in our lives, or destruction.

I still kept the bag o’clover for days after its inherent demise, but never stopped thinking about how I had made the decision to pluck it, or even allow everyone to put their hands on it, never considering what the consequences could be. I have continued to learn from that decision, knowing that the decisions we make are our own. Whether it be to improve our minds, keep our bodies healthy, or make a spiritual decision that could change our eternal life, we get to make the decisions.

I learned that it’s about living in the present moment while learning from our past and having hope for the future. We are the clover in the baggie. No matter what we are surrounded with in this world, the wonderment lies in what happens when we are plucked from here.

I learned that more important and athentic than luck is faith, family, and the blessings that surround us, even in hard times.

Most of all, I learned that if it weren’t for the desperate thought of luck, there’d be no luck at all.