The Luck of the Irish phrase originated during the second half of the 19th century, according to Edward T. O'Donnell, an associate professor of history at Holy Cross. Many successful miners at the time were Irish. The phrase "the luck of the Irish" was used to imply the miners, immigrants in America, were finding success purely based on luck, rather than based on intelligence and skill.

Although the Irish potato blight receded in 1850, the effects of the famine continued to spur Irish emigration into the 20th century. Still facing poverty and disease, the Irish set out for America where they reunited with relatives who had fled at the height of the famine. The list of successful Irish in America is extensive, from actors to business owners, politicians, and influential leaders in every area of our country.  Were the Irish luckier than any other group of people. Perhaps.  Nonetheless they were intelligent and skilled and open to relocating, retraining, rebuilding, and adapting to new conditions. They made their luck. 
The question is, do you feel lucky?

​Most Pluma clients know her as Samantha. Her official name is Ibtisam Nisan. She was born in Iraq forty-two years ago. At the age of nine, along with her mother and four siblings, they escaped from Iraq and the warfare of Saddam Hussein. 

Along with hundreds of others, Samantha’s family walked for several days until they reached Turkey. While the people walked, many carrying their children and whatever belongings they could hold, American planes dropped food and water to keep them alive. She remembers little about this walk, except they were frightened, cold and wet from rain and they were exhausted, and their mother kept them moving forward. 

“There is more that unites us, than divides us.” – Amazon Prime Movie, This is Christmas.
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During the Christmas holidays I watched a movie, a romantic comedy, that stated people are more united than divided. Could this be true? 

The movie takes place in the UK. The main character, Adam, actor Alfred Enoch, rides the same train to work into the city daily, with the same passengers.  All of them strangers to each other, he is intrigued and curious and begins to wonder about them. Who are these daily riders, what do they do, and what is their story?  One pretty gal gets his attention, of course, and becomes interested in her. 

It’s natural to be interested and curious about people, their lives, their story, why they dress the way they do and about their overall character. We make up our own stories about them. At the airport or any other crowded place where we’re surrounded by strangers, and have time to observe, we naturally begin to wonder about the people around us. Some of us travel, join groups, read books, and watch movies for the same reason. We wonder about the lives of others and what we have in common or how we differ. 

As another year ends and we prepare to experience the next, we can’t help but consider what has passed and what is before us. Ever changing and unpredictable, we can choose to either recall the good and build on it or bemoan what could have been. Our thoughts lead us either way. Humans are complex and we are in constant transformation, we are fueled and directed by our thinking, year after year.
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Inspiration is a fuel that helps direct our mind. Whether through a book or documentary, perhaps a person or an organization, or an event that stirs our emotions, we need to feed our inspiration appetite and exercise our motivation muscle and remain open to the possibilities. Life can be better if we move forward, into our next year, consciously inspired! 

Rarely do I enjoy television commercials. But the Volvo EX30 – "It’s the little things" commercial captured my interest and stirred my emotions. 
It highlights a dad and his daughter doing the little things in life. The music, words to a song, and an expert filming of expressions on faces become relatable, and at the end, the words ‘It’s the little things that mean a lot’ win you over. And you want to run out and purchase a Volvo. Or at least I did…. but I didn’t. I’ll keep my car. 
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My son Ron is in the commercial/film industry in Hollywood and has been for twenty years. I know for a fact that attention to detail, the little things, is imperative when filming and creating an emotional connection to the product and characters in a film or commercial and with the viewers/consumers…. making it all relatable, accessible, and attainable.  It’s the little things that mean a lot.  

We’ve all heard of Lotto Winners who win millions of dollars and within a few years they find themselves broke. Perhaps with even less money than before becoming millionaires. What happened?

Over the years I’ve heard thousands of stories from people who have not only survived devastating events, but they have eventually thrived.  What got them through? 
Why do some businesses continue to do well, while others close their doors after trying their best? What was missing?

Recently I watched a documentary, Live to 100, Secretes of the Blue Zones, highlighting five ‘Blue Zone’ regions in the world where people not only live to 100 and beyond, but these centenarians are living extraordinarily long and vibrant lives of health and productivity with no signs of Alzheimer’s or diabetes… illness related to aging. 

One of my favorite magazines is the Magnolia Journal, produced by Joanna Gaines and her husband, Chip. It gives me a second thought. 
Their 2023 fall issue takes a closer look at the ‘perspective’ from where we view our lives, and why it matters that we make simple changes to our thoughts and open our minds. 
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Here’s a snippet from the article titled "Second Thoughts". The author Nicole Ziza Bauer begins with this perspective; “A single break in our everyday patterns holds potential to unlock and open our minds. 
Even in the most mundane ways, it’s easy to live on autopilot. But if at some point during that drive (home) you did something different, something unexpected, your brain would wake right up. And that inch of difference has a major payoff over time.” 

The only way to stay sane and remain happy is to engage in rational thinking and insist on being happy. It’s not easy. But here are some bits of rational happy inspiration. Always look for encouraging information. And when you find it, apply it to your life. 
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Read inspirational books, even a novel has juicy insights and characters that will provide you with a glimmer of hope. Someone Else’s Shoes by JoJo Moyes will keep you on your toes and happy to be a sensible person. The collection of books by Donna Leon, with 32 novels based on Commissario Guido Brunetti, detective in the Italian State Police, and stationed in Venice, is entertaining and gives you a bird’s eye view of life in Italy…so fun. Of course, there is always a murder, but it’s worth the entertainment value. And Commissario Brunetti is a rational thinker, and you’ll be happy you discovered him. 

My grandmother Romana, a Yaqui Indian from Mexico, came to America as a widow with three young children to work the melon fields at a farm in Mesa, Arizona in 1920. She wanted a better life for her children. She worked in the fields during the day and ironed clothes for the owners of the farm in the evenings for extra money.

During this time, she met my grandfather, Cliofas, a Mayan Indian from Durango, Mexico who worked nearby laying railroad tracks. In 1925 their son, my father Dionicio Villaverde, was born in Mesa, Arizona. 

What We Know

When you don’t know, you don’t know.
But, when you know, you can’t not know.  
                                   
A year ago, Joe was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. We did not know the processes that would consume our lives as we dealt with options, doctors, treatments, tests, opinions, waiting, and praying. Until you are the diagnosed or the caregiver, you don’t know. We now know the dance of cancer, of worry and optimism, of listening and anticipating and of genuinely knowing how precious life feels. 
Sometimes, we don’t know until we must know and sometimes, we pretend we don’t know.                         

Listening to an interview with Dr. Zach Bush MD, a physician specializing in internal medicine and endocrinology, I, once again, came to know the function of regenerative energy in our body between our health and the food we eat. Every part of our being, from our skin, organs, skeletal, neurological and blood flow system is involved in mitochondria; the energy released during the oxidation of the food we eat and the health it provides. The role of microbiome, nutrition, hormonal balance, mindfulness, and the presence to maximize the health of our gut-skin axis, improves healthful aging, and reimagines what it means to be healthy and beautiful. The underlying foundation to beauty is wellness. We cannot pretend we don’t know our responsibility to our health.