I made it up

     When I was little I heard, "Find a penny pick it up, all day long you'll have good luck". I looked for pennies on the ground. Later, I heard that it will only bring you luck if the penny is face-up. I'm not superstitious, but I passed up many pennies on the ground over the years because they were face-down. I was either in a hurry or too lazy to pick them up. I left a few face-up pennies on the ground also, because honestly, ....... "it was ONLY A PENNY".  Now that I'm older, I seldom pass up a penny on the ground. They go in our granddaughter's Piggy Bank. They make her happy.
     A few weeks ago I found a penny on the floor at work. It was face-down but I picked it up anyway. As I walked past a woman sitting at a table, I set the penny in front of her making sure the penny was face-up. I repeated the "Find a penny" quote and told her, "but if you find a penny face-down on the ground, you must give it to someone else face-up and it will be lucky for them and for you". We both laughed and she asked, "Really?" I told her "no, I made that up" and we laughed again. Now when I see her at work she smiles at me and we remember the silliness. For a short moment we feel happier, but the feeling doesn't disappear suddenly, it lingers awhile . So, maybe that's it's own kind of good luck. These kinds of small moments have a significant impact on our lives. In these ways we make our own luck.
     When we share a silly moment, we can make someone else smile. Now that's real power!  I was thinking about the person who made up the "Find a Penny" quote. Did they understand how many lives they would touch? What would they think if they knew how many people over the last century have picked up a penny thinking about their luck that day.