[EdSharkey]

Word choice can help your thinking. We all receive different struggles and decide how to respond.

The way you describe your 'luck', I read as "random good fortune" tinged with some guilt for being a 'have' when there are so many 'have-not's.

I prefer 'blessed', and not in the corny #blessed way, to describe my condition. To me, I was given much because so much is expected of me by God, by universe and by my higher self.

The extent to which I am blessed is a component of my calling to improve the total human condition.

If you lean in to that way of thinking, you obligate yourself and that can be as heavy a burden as you choose to make it. That choice and the freedom to decide how to fulfill that obligation are a part of the blessing.

To naval gaze and feel guilt is natural but fruitless stinkin' thinkin'. Motivating oneself with gratitude and humbling oneself by giving glory are ways to power through guilt.

[_heimdall]

> I prefer 'blessed', and not in the corny #blessed way, to describe my condition. To me, I was given much because so much is expected of me by God, by universe and by my higher self.

How do you avoid this leading to a feeling that you, and anyone else "blessed", is more important that others? Should we really assume that the condition of one's life is an indicator of both the existence of a higher power and of that person's relative importance to it?

[ricenews]

Not OP, but I’ll take a crack at responding.

The feeling of being “blessed” is the recognition that a substantial component of your current fortune is due to circumstances outside your control, whether due to a higher power, support from family/friends, raw luck, or the kindness of strangers. The proper and typical response to this feeling is one of gratitude, not self-importance, and the desired response is to contribute in various ways to the blessing of others (i.e. pay it forward).

It’s only when we lose the salience of that “blessed” feeling, and we start to take our circumstances for granted, that leads to our feeling of greater importance than others. It’s a slippery position no doubt, but the alternative feelings are: guilt (that I’ve received unfairly), anxiety (that what I’ve received may not be enough), jealousy (that what I’ve received is not enough), or pride/self-satisfaction (that I’m primarily responsible for what I’ve received). And honestly, it’s pride that is the true gateway to that feeling of self-importance you describe.

[EdSharkey]

I am an average, flawed and vulnerable human. I am aware everything I value and love including my life can be taken from me.

Should that happen, I don't consider that a special punishment from God any more than my current condition is a special gift.

I'm here for a blink and then I am gone for the rest of long time. This brief opportunity to improve things and make earthly living less hellish for those who come after me is the blessing that I am thankful for.

Hope that helps.