Skill and Luck

     I am a daily Wordle solver.  Each day I get a rating for skill and luck.  What an interesting combination.  Getting Wordle in one try is a miracle and in two tries is extraordinary.   Today I made it in two!  Surprisingly my skill rating was greater than luck!   Actually I think it was divine intervention.  Each day I read an Upper Room Devotional and from that reading I pick a word to start  the solution of Wordle.  Today the word adult jumped out at me and sure enough it was a dandy.  It set up the solution immediately.  Normally I have to puzzle and sort letters until I get a reasonable second try and so on.   I guess all this is to make up for the disappointment of failing in six tries a few days ago.  Alas I now have a long way to go to complete more that the longest streak I had of 110 days in a row.

    As an end note I would like tie this discussion to longevity.  I recently listened to a seminar on living well in an extended life.  That is to live beyond 75 or so.   There we lots of interesting tips on living a good life in geezer-hood.  A social network and a number of mental and physical exercises contribute to quality of life.    I would vote that skiing with a community of friends is an excellent activity that checks all those boxes.  Skiing always demands honing your skills in one way or another.  

    Last of all I must say that while we can all hone our skills, there is a bit of luck in having a satisfying senior life.  Good genes, good fortunes in the work place and other random factors do also contribute to what happens.  However, perhaps paying attention to skills may give us an edge on the luck side.   So today I will socialize at my volunteering assignment, take an e-bike ride and work on more puzzles.  Looking forward to enjoying the day!