Black-throated Sparrow : Do You Feel Lucky?
Black-throated Sparrow
This is a Black-throated Sparrow. They’re common here. So there was a certain measure of expectation in this encounter. In fact, I saw quite a few during my outing. But all the others were deep down in bushes or flying away or at a distance that made a photo impossible. Put another way, I was lucky to see this one - lit this way, on this perch, looking in the right direction - such that I could receive this photo. Bringing this offering to fruition surely requires a certain amount of technical skill and preparation, in which I’ve invested countless hours. But with wildlife photography, there’s also an element of good fortune - “right time, right place” - that also has to be credited when seeing a beautiful photo. This art teaches humility, constantly.
Jewish tradition has a very interesting relationship with luck. On the one hand, we have deep faith in an ordered universe, which while not always comprehensible, is never random. God - only - is the world’s motive force, whom we bless for the turning of the seasons and our own days’ smallest elements. And yet. Sitting adjacently are folk customs, ancient and pervasive. Amulets and incantations have been used for millennia to ward off the evil eye. Money gifts are universally multiples of $18, expressing to the recipient that they should share in the auspicious value of “Life!” in Hebrew. And every joyous occasion is punctuated by an exuberant “Mazel Tov!” literally meaning “good (astrological) fortune.”
Business schools rightly focus lessons on concrete strategies to make us successful. Perfectly sensible. Equally valid, certain characteristics make success more likely: hard work, intelligence, moral character. And yet. There is also the inescapable reality of luck’s role in a business. Timing can be good or bad. The macro environment can float or sink a ship. Fascinatingly, it’s often the most-accomplished people, the greatest talents, who also most humbly acknowledge luck’s role. Far from diminishing their own agency, knowing what they add and what happens around them reflects the truest insight. My Sparrow was a lucky, humbling find. May we all - gently - learn luck’s humbling lesson - kaynahora, pu pu pu!