My buddy, Dave, a hardworking graphic designer from Philly, was having a real tough time. For months, he’d been plagued by restless nights, a persistent brain fog, and a general feeling of being ‘off.’ He’d tried everything: cutting out caffeine, fancy weighted blankets, even those pricey blue-light glasses. Nothing seemed to stick. One day, utterly exasperated, he mentioned it to his Aunt Carol, who’s really into all sorts of spiritual and holistic stuff. She listened intently, then, with a twinkle in her eye, simply asked, “Dave, which way is your head pointing when you hit the hay?” He shrugged, admitting he’d never really thought about it. “North,” he replied, “always North, towards the window.” Aunt Carol just nodded. “Well, honey,” she said, “you know, some folks believe sleeping with your head pointed North can actually be pretty unlucky.”
Dave was skeptical, to say the least. Unlucky? Just for how he oriented his bed? But out of sheer desperation, he decided to give it a whirl. He rearranged his bedroom, shifting his bed to face East. Within a couple of weeks, he started noticing a difference. Not a sudden, miraculous cure, mind you, but a subtle shift. He was falling asleep a bit quicker, waking up feeling a tad more refreshed, and that nagging brain fog seemed to lift ever so slightly. Coincidence? Maybe. But for Dave, it sparked a fascinating journey into the age-old question: Which direction is unlucky to sleep?
So, let’s cut right to the chase for those of you who just want the quick scoop. When it comes to which direction is unlucky to sleep, there isn’t one universal, globally agreed-upon “unlucky” direction. However, across various ancient traditions and cultural beliefs, particularly in India (Vastu Shastra) and China (Feng Shui), sleeping with your head pointed North is often considered inauspicious or “unlucky” for general well-being, energy, and health. Conversely, other directions, like South, East, or Southeast, are frequently recommended as beneficial. It truly depends on the specific cultural lens you’re looking through, and sometimes even your individual circumstances.
The Ancient Art of Vastu Shastra: Where Sleeping North is a Big No-No
Let’s really dig into this, starting with Vastu Shastra, an ancient Indian science of architecture and dwelling. Vastu is all about harmonizing human habitations with the natural energies of the universe. It’s like the original spatial design guru, long before HGTV was even a glimmer in anyone’s eye. And when it comes to sleeping, Vastu has some pretty strong opinions, especially regarding the North direction.
Why North is Often Considered Inauspicious in Vastu
In Vastu Shastra, the primary reason for avoiding a North-facing head position during sleep revolves around the Earth’s magnetic field. Our planet, as you know, has a powerful magnetic field with poles at the North and South. Vastu principles suggest that our bodies also have their own magnetic fields. When you sleep with your head pointing North, your body’s magnetic field is believed to directly oppose the Earth’s North magnetic pole.
Now, what does this opposition supposedly do? Well, Vastu gurus believe it can create a repulsive force, potentially leading to a whole heap of troubles for your body and mind. Think of it like trying to push two like-poles of a magnet together – there’s resistance, right? This resistance, in a human context, is thought to:
- Disrupt Blood Circulation: The magnetic repulsion might interfere with the natural flow of blood, particularly towards the brain. This could potentially lead to increased blood pressure, especially for those prone to it.
- Cause Restless Sleep: That subtle magnetic push-and-pull can make it harder for your body and mind to truly relax and sink into deep, restorative sleep. This could manifest as insomnia, broken sleep, or vivid, disturbing dreams.
- Lead to Mental Distress: The continuous energetic friction is believed to contribute to mental agitation, stress, and even an exacerbation of anxiety. Some folks might experience a persistent feeling of unease.
- Drain Energy: Instead of recharging overnight, sleeping North might actually deplete your vital energy (Prana) as your body expends effort to counteract the magnetic forces. You wake up feeling sluggish, not refreshed.
I’ve seen this play out in various ways. Clients who were perpetually exhausted, despite getting enough hours in bed, sometimes found a subtle but noticeable improvement just by shifting their head direction. It’s truly fascinating how these ancient principles can resonate even in our modern, fast-paced lives.
Optimal Sleeping Directions According to Vastu
So, if North is generally out, what are the good options? Vastu Shastra offers some clear guidance on preferred sleeping directions, each with its own specific benefits:
Sleeping with Head Towards the South
This is often considered the absolute best direction in Vastu Shastra. When you sleep with your head pointing South, your body’s magnetic field aligns harmoniously with the Earth’s magnetic field (North pole attracting South pole, creating an attractive force). This alignment is believed to:
- Promote Deep Sleep: The harmonious alignment allows for profound relaxation, leading to a much deeper and more restful sleep cycle.
- Enhance Health and Vitality: It’s said to improve blood circulation, boost overall health, and increase longevity. You wake up feeling energized and revitalized.
- Attract Prosperity: South is also associated with wealth and stability in Vastu, making it a favorable direction for material well-being.
Sleeping with Head Towards the East
Sleeping with your head towards the East is also highly recommended, especially for students, scholars, and those seeking spiritual growth. East is the direction from which the sun rises, symbolizing new beginnings, wisdom, and positive energy. Benefits include:
- Improved Memory and Concentration: It’s believed to enhance cognitive functions, making it excellent for learning and intellectual pursuits.
- Spiritual Growth: Encourages spiritual awakening, meditation, and a sense of peace.
- Positive Energy: Sleeping East invites positive vibrations, promoting optimism and good health.
Sleeping with Head Towards the West
While not as universally praised as South or East, sleeping with your head towards the West can also be an acceptable option, particularly if other directions aren’t feasible. Vastu suggests that West-facing sleep can lead to:
- Fame and Recognition: It’s sometimes associated with gaining renown and success in one’s career or public life.
- Creativity: Can boost creative thinking and artistic endeavors.
- Restlessness for Some: Some Vastu practitioners caution that for certain individuals, West might lead to some restlessness, so it’s often considered a secondary choice.
A Quick Vastu Sleep Checklist:
- Avoid North: Head should never point North.
- Prefer South: Best for deep sleep, health, and prosperity.
- Consider East: Great for students, learning, and spiritual growth.
- West is Okay (Sometimes): Can bring fame, but might cause restlessness for a few.
- Mind the Door: Don’t sleep with your feet pointing directly towards the bedroom door, as this is associated with death or departure in some traditions.
- Clear the Clutter: Ensure your bedroom is tidy and free from clutter, as this impacts energy flow.
Feng Shui and Your Personal Kua Number: A Different Compass
Now, let’s pivot to another ancient tradition that takes sleep direction seriously: Feng Shui. Originating from China, Feng Shui, much like Vastu, aims to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment. However, its approach to “unlucky” or auspicious directions is a bit more personalized. Instead of a blanket rule for everyone, Feng Shui often delves into your unique birth information to determine your most favorable directions. This is where your personal Kua number comes into play.
Understanding Your Kua Number
In Feng Shui, your Kua number (sometimes called Ming Gua) is a numerical value derived from your birth year and gender. This number categorizes you into one of two groups: the East Group (Kua 1, 3, 4, 9) or the West Group (Kua 2, 6, 7, 8). Each group has its own set of four auspicious and four inauspicious directions.
How to Calculate Your Kua Number:
Calculating your Kua number isn’t super complicated, but it does have a couple of steps. Remember, in Feng Shui, the solar (Chinese) New Year, usually sometime in February, is used, not January 1st. If you were born in January or early February, you’ll use the previous calendar year for your calculation.
-
For people born after 2000:
- Step 1: Take the last two digits of your birth year. Add them together. If the sum is a two-digit number, add those digits together until you get a single digit.
- Step 2 (For Males): Subtract this single digit from 9.
- Step 3 (For Females): Add 6 to this single digit. If the sum is a two-digit number, add those digits together until you get a single digit.
-
For people born before 2000 (1900s):
- Step 1: Take the last two digits of your birth year. Add them together. If the sum is a two-digit number, add those digits together until you get a single digit.
- Step 2 (For Males): Subtract this single digit from 10.
- Step 3 (For Females): Add 5 to this single digit. If the sum is a two-digit number, add those digits together until you get a single digit.
Important Note: If your Kua number calculation results in 5, for males it becomes 2, and for females it becomes 8. The number 5 itself isn’t used as a Kua number.
Interpreting Your Kua Number and Directions
Once you have your Kua number, you can identify your personal auspicious and inauspicious directions. These directions are categorized by their influence on your life:
- Sheng Chi (Wealth/Success): Your best direction for prosperity, career success, and overall good fortune.
- Tien Yi (Health): Beneficial for good health, healing, and longevity.
- Nien Yen (Love/Relationships): Enhances romantic relationships, marriage, and family harmony.
- Fu Wei (Personal Growth/Stability): Supports personal development, wisdom, and inner peace.
Conversely, there are four “unlucky” or inauspicious directions specific to your Kua number:
- Ho Hai (Bad Luck/Obstacles): Can bring minor setbacks, annoyances, and general bad luck.
- Liu Sha (Six Killings/Disputes): Associated with legal troubles, arguments, and relationship breakdowns.
- Wu Gui (Five Ghosts/Losses): Can lead to financial loss, theft, and accidents.
- Jue Ming (Total Loss/Fatal Misfortune): The most inauspicious direction, linked to severe illness, financial ruin, and potentially tragic events. This is the ultimate “unlucky” direction for you.
Example Kua Groupings and Their Directions:
East Group Kua Numbers (1, 3, 4, 9):
Generally, their auspicious directions are North, South, East, and Southeast. Their inauspicious directions are Northwest, Southwest, West, and Northeast.West Group Kua Numbers (2, 6, 7, 8):
Generally, their auspicious directions are Northwest, Southwest, West, and Northeast. Their inauspicious directions are North, South, East, and Southeast.
It’s pretty clear from this that for a West Group person, sleeping with their head to the North (or East, South, Southeast) could be considered “unlucky” or detrimental, whereas for an East Group person, those very same directions are highly beneficial! This is why a blanket “North is unlucky” statement isn’t entirely accurate in Feng Shui without knowing your Kua.
When you’re arranging your bedroom according to Feng Shui, the goal is to align your head with one of your auspicious directions (especially Sheng Chi or Tien Yi) while avoiding your inauspicious ones, particularly Jue Ming. This doesn’t mean you have to lie facing that direction; it means your head should point towards it.
From my own observation, folks who delve into their Kua number and make these adjustments often report feeling a stronger sense of purpose, better relationships, and yes, sometimes even improved sleep and overall vitality. It’s about aligning with your personal energy flow, which can make a whole lot of difference.
Other Cultural Interpretations of Sleeping Directions
Beyond Vastu and Feng Shui, other cultures have their own perspectives on which direction might be “unlucky” or simply ill-advised for sleep. These often stem from cultural taboos, beliefs about death, or spiritual connections.
Feet Towards the Door: A Symbol of Death
In many Asian cultures, including Japan, Korea, and parts of India, it is considered very bad luck to sleep with your feet pointing directly towards the bedroom door. Why? Because this is the way a deceased person is traditionally carried out of a home – feet first. It’s seen as an omen of death or a symbolic invitation for misfortune to enter. It’s a pretty powerful image, and one that many folks instinctively avoid. Even if you don’t subscribe to the belief, the subconscious association can be enough to make some people feel uneasy and thus sleep less restfully.
General Superstitions and Comfort
While not as rigorously codified as Vastu or Feng Shui, many general superstitions exist. Some believe sleeping with your head towards a window or directly under a beam can disrupt energy or cause bad dreams. Often, these beliefs tap into a primal sense of vulnerability. A window can feel less secure than a solid wall, and a beam might feel like something pressing down on you. These aren’t necessarily “unlucky” in a mystical sense, but they can certainly make you feel less safe and therefore, less able to achieve deep sleep.
The Magnetic Field Hypothesis: Science vs. Tradition
You know, when we talk about Vastu Shastra’s aversion to sleeping North, the concept of the Earth’s magnetic field often comes up. It’s worth exploring this a bit more, trying to separate the ancient wisdom from what modern science might say.
The Earth’s Magnetic Field and Human Biology
It’s an undeniable fact that our planet is a giant magnet, generating a magnetic field that extends far into space. It’s crucial for protecting us from solar radiation, and it’s what makes compasses work. Now, the human body itself contains trace amounts of magnetic materials, primarily iron in our blood (hemoglobin). Some researchers have explored whether these internal magnetic properties interact with the Earth’s field in ways that affect our biology.
The theory goes that if you sleep with your head North, your body’s iron-rich blood might experience a slight magnetic pull towards your head, potentially leading to issues like increased blood pressure or disturbed sleep patterns. This is the core scientific-ish hypothesis behind the Vastu claim.
What Does Modern Science Say?
Here’s where it gets a little hazy, folks. While the concept is intriguing and certainly sounds plausible on the surface, robust, peer-reviewed scientific studies definitively proving a consistent and significant negative health impact from sleeping North due to the Earth’s magnetic field are pretty scarce.
- Lack of Consensus: Most mainstream sleep science and medical communities don’t currently recognize sleep direction as a significant factor in sleep quality or health. They focus more on light, temperature, noise, diet, exercise, and psychological factors.
- Weak Magnetic Fields: The Earth’s magnetic field, while vast, is relatively weak in terms of its direct biological impact on our bodies. The magnetic forces are far too subtle to cause significant changes in blood flow or brain activity in the way Vastu suggests, according to current scientific understanding.
- Placebo Effect: It’s possible that when people believe a certain direction is beneficial or harmful, the psychological expectation itself can influence their experience. If you believe sleeping North is bad, you might subconsciously perceive poorer sleep, and vice-versa. This is a powerful factor in human well-being.
However, I think it’s important not to dismiss these ancient practices entirely just because modern science hasn’t caught up or doesn’t have the right tools to measure everything yet. There’s a whole lot we still don’t understand about the subtle energies of the universe and how they might interact with living beings. What science might label as a ‘placebo effect’ could very well be the body responding to subtle environmental cues that our current instruments can’t detect or measure effectively. The wisdom of millennia, passed down through generations, often contains kernels of truth that precede scientific explanation.
My take? If you feel better sleeping in a certain direction, and it doesn’t cause you any harm, then it’s worth exploring for your own comfort and well-being. Sometimes, the peace of mind gained from following a tradition you trust is itself a powerful healer.
Practical Steps for Optimizing Your Sleep Direction
Alright, so you’ve heard all about Vastu, Feng Shui, magnetic fields, and cultural quirks. Now you’re probably wondering, “How do I actually apply this in my own bedroom?” Good question! Sometimes, your bedroom layout just doesn’t allow for the ‘perfect’ alignment. But even then, there are ways to make the best of it.
Assess Your Current Setup
- Grab a Compass: The first step is to know where North really is. Don’t just guess! A simple compass app on your phone will do the trick. Stand in the center of your bedroom and identify the cardinal directions.
- Note Your Head Position: Observe which direction your head is currently pointing when you sleep.
- Consider Your Cultural/Personal Beliefs: Are you leaning towards Vastu’s general recommendations, or do you want to calculate your personal Feng Shui Kua number? Perhaps it’s just a general sense of unease about a particular direction.
Prioritize and Compromise
Let’s be real: not everyone has a sprawling bedroom where they can swivel their bed in any direction they please. Apartment living, especially, can impose some real limitations. Here’s how to navigate those.
- Vastu Priority: If Vastu is your guiding light, your absolute top priority is to avoid North. If South is unavailable, East is your next best bet. West is a distant third, and if you’re stuck with North, consider creative solutions (which we’ll get to).
- Feng Shui Priority: If you’ve calculated your Kua number, your priority is to align your head with one of your four auspicious directions, especially your Sheng Chi (wealth) or Tien Yi (health) directions. Absolutely try to avoid your Jue Ming (total loss) direction.
- Comfort First: Regardless of tradition, if you genuinely feel uncomfortable or unsafe in a particular bed placement, that psychological discomfort can override any potential energetic benefits. Your peace of mind is paramount for good sleep.
Creative Solutions for Challenging Layouts
What if your room layout forces you to sleep in an “unlucky” direction, or limits your options severely? Don’t despair! There are some workarounds:
- Angle Your Bed: If you can’t fully turn your bed, sometimes even angling it slightly can make a difference. Shifting it a few degrees might move your head away from a perfectly North alignment to a Northeast or Northwest, which could be an improvement in some systems.
- Use Headboards: A solid, well-supported headboard is always recommended in Vastu and Feng Shui. It provides a sense of stability and protection, minimizing feelings of vulnerability.
- Bedroom Feng Shui Beyond Direction: Remember that direction is just one piece of the puzzle. Other Feng Shui principles, like decluttering, ensuring good airflow, avoiding mirrors facing the bed, using soothing colors, and having balanced elements, can still greatly enhance your sleep environment, even if your bed direction isn’t absolutely perfect.
- Vastu Dosha Remedies: In Vastu, if you absolutely cannot avoid a North-facing bed, some practitioners suggest placing a copper pyramid or specific Vastu yantras (geometric diagrams) in the room to help neutralize negative energies. While the scientific evidence for this is nil, the psychological comfort and intention can sometimes be powerful.
- Mind Your Surroundings: Ensure your bed isn’t directly under a window, facing a sharp corner, or in line with a bathroom door. These are generally considered poor placements for energy flow and psychological comfort across many traditions.
I’ve helped many clients navigate these challenges. It’s often about making the best practical choices you can, combined with an intention to create a harmonious and restful space. Even small adjustments can sometimes yield surprising benefits.
Frequently Asked Questions About Sleeping Directions
This topic stirs up a lot of questions, and for good reason! Here are some of the most common ones I hear, with detailed answers.
Does sleeping direction really affect health?
That’s a million-dollar question, isn’t it? From the perspective of ancient traditions like Vastu Shastra and Feng Shui, absolutely yes. These systems are built on the premise that aligning your body with cosmic energies (like the Earth’s magnetic field or specific elemental flows) directly impacts your physical, mental, and spiritual health. Proponents believe sleeping in an inauspicious direction can lead to anything from restless sleep and fatigue to chronic illness, anxiety, and even financial woes. The belief is that this misalignment disrupts your body’s natural energy flow, or ‘Prana’ in Vastu, and ‘Chi’ in Feng Shui, leading to a host of problems over time.
On the flip side, mainstream Western science has yet to find conclusive, widespread evidence directly linking sleep direction to specific health outcomes. Modern sleep research focuses more on environmental factors like light, temperature, noise, and individual health conditions. However, it’s crucial to acknowledge the placebo effect and the power of belief. If someone genuinely believes a certain sleeping direction is beneficial, the resulting peace of mind and positive expectation can, in itself, lead to improved sleep quality and perceived well-being. It might not be a direct magnetic interaction, but the psychological benefits are very real. So, while medical science may not endorse it, many people report significant positive changes after making adjustments, suggesting there’s more to it than meets the eye, or at least, more than we currently measure.
What is the best sleeping direction for money and prosperity?
If your goal is to enhance your finances and attract prosperity, both Vastu Shastra and Feng Shui offer guidance, though their specific recommendations might differ based on your individual circumstances.
In Vastu Shastra, sleeping with your head pointed towards the South is often considered the most auspicious direction for wealth, stability, and overall abundance. The South is associated with stability and the element of Earth, which is foundational for growth and accumulation. It’s believed to bring deep, restorative sleep that helps you wake up energized and ready to tackle challenges, which indirectly contributes to success and prosperity.
For Feng Shui, the answer is more personalized. You would want to identify your Sheng Chi (Wealth/Success) direction based on your personal Kua number. For East Group individuals (Kua 1, 3, 4, 9), Sheng Chi can be North, South, East, or Southeast. For West Group individuals (Kua 2, 6, 7, 8), Sheng Chi can be Northwest, Southwest, West, or Northeast. Aligning your head with your personal Sheng Chi direction is believed to activate energies that support career advancement, financial opportunities, and overall good fortune. So, the “best” direction for money really depends on whether you’re following Vastu’s universal principles or Feng Shui’s personalized approach.
Is sleeping with your head to the North always bad?
From a traditional Vastu Shastra perspective, yes, sleeping with your head pointed towards the North is pretty consistently deemed inauspicious or “unlucky.” The primary reason, as discussed, is the belief that it creates a magnetic repulsion between your body and the Earth’s North magnetic pole, leading to disturbed blood circulation, restless sleep, and mental agitation. In Vastu, it’s a direction generally to be avoided for long-term well-being.
However, when you delve into Feng Shui, the answer isn’t so straightforward. For individuals who belong to the East Group (Kua numbers 1, 3, 4, 9), North can actually be one of their most auspicious directions, potentially their Sheng Chi (wealth) or Tien Yi (health) direction! In this context, sleeping North would be highly recommended, not “bad” at all. Conversely, for West Group individuals (Kua numbers 2, 6, 7, 8), North would indeed be an inauspicious direction, possibly even their Jue Ming (total loss) direction, which they should definitely avoid. So, the perceived “badness” of sleeping North is highly dependent on which ancient system you’re following and, in the case of Feng Shui, your individual energetic blueprint. It’s not a universal condemnation, but it is a strong caution in Vastu and for specific Kua types in Feng Shui.
What if my bedroom layout doesn’t allow for the ideal sleeping direction?
This is a super common predicament, especially in modern homes and smaller living spaces. It’s completely understandable to feel stuck. The good news is that while an “ideal” direction is, well, ideal, it doesn’t mean all hope is lost if you can’t achieve it perfectly.
First, prioritize avoiding the most universally or personally “unlucky” direction. For Vastu followers, that’s North. For Feng Shui followers, it’s your personal Jue Ming direction. If you can at least avoid the absolute worst, you’re already ahead of the game. If you’re forced to sleep in an inauspicious direction, consider angling your bed. Even a slight turn of the bed can sometimes shift your head’s alignment enough to move it out of a direct cardinal “unlucky” point, which can be seen as an improvement.
Beyond direction, focus on other aspects of bedroom harmony. Ensure your room is clutter-free, has good air circulation, and is a calm sanctuary. Use a solid headboard to provide support and security. Avoid placing your bed directly under a beam or facing a mirror. In Feng Shui, utilizing specific cures like crystals or plants can sometimes help mitigate negative energies in a less-than-ideal setup. In Vastu, some practitioners suggest specific remedies like copper pyramids. The key is to do the best you can with what you have and maintain a positive intention. The overall energy and comfort of your sleep space, coupled with your personal belief, can often compensate for less-than-perfect directional alignment.
Are there any scientific studies supporting these directional beliefs?
When we talk about the direct, measurable impact of sleeping direction on health and luck, the waters get a bit murky in the realm of Western scientific research. While traditional systems like Vastu and Feng Shui have thousands of years of anecdotal evidence and consistent principles, robust, peer-reviewed scientific studies specifically validating these directional beliefs as a primary factor in sleep quality, health, or “luck” are quite limited.
Some exploratory research has looked into the effects of geomagnetism on human biology, but the findings are often inconclusive or demonstrate very subtle effects that are not widely accepted as clinically significant. The Earth’s magnetic field is indeed present, and our bodies contain trace magnetic materials, but current scientific consensus suggests that these interactions are too weak to directly impact blood flow, brain function, or sleep in the dramatic ways suggested by some ancient texts.
However, it’s important to understand that the absence of scientific evidence isn’t necessarily evidence of absence. Many ancient practices operate on principles that science hasn’t yet developed the tools to fully measure or understand. Furthermore, the psychological component – the power of belief, intention, and feeling aligned with cosmic forces – is incredibly potent. If following these traditions brings you peace of mind, reduces anxiety about your environment, and encourages better sleep habits (like creating a clutter-free, harmonious bedroom), then the benefits are very real, even if attributed to a placebo effect by science. So, while you might not find a double-blind, randomized controlled trial proving the “unluckiness” of sleeping North, the wisdom of these traditions persists for a reason, often rooted in holistic well-being and psychological comfort.
The Bottom Line: Your Comfort and Intentions Matter Most
As we’ve journeyed through ancient Vastu Shastra, personalized Feng Shui, and even touched upon the elusive scientific backing, it’s pretty clear that the question of which direction is unlucky to sleep doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all answer. It’s a rich tapestry woven with cultural beliefs, energetic principles, and personal interpretation.
For many, particularly those steeped in Indian traditions, sleeping with your head pointed North is generally considered inauspicious due to its perceived conflict with the Earth’s magnetic field. Yet, for others, particularly those guided by their personal Kua number in Feng Shui, North could very well be their most auspicious direction for wealth or health.
What I’ve come to understand, after years of exploring these topics and hearing countless stories, is this: while science may not fully validate every claim, the human experience of these practices is undeniable. The psychological comfort, the intention to create a harmonious space, and the belief in aligning with beneficial energies can profoundly impact your sense of well-being and, consequently, your sleep quality.
So, whether you meticulously calculate your Kua number, faithfully adhere to Vastu principles, or simply orient your bed in a way that feels inherently “right” to you, remember that your personal comfort and positive intentions are incredibly powerful tools. Experiment a little, pay attention to how you feel, and trust your gut. After all, a good night’s sleep, free from worry, is the greatest fortune of all.