You May Already be a Winner !

     

     I’ve wanted to share this information for a little over a year now and this is most likely as good a time as any. Sweepstakes are normally not my thing. How many of you have bought lottery or Lotto tickets on a regular basis? My understanding about this subculture we have in common with almost every spot in the world is that a good percentage of the global population spend their discretionary income regularly on buying these tickets, entering sweepstakes and trying their luck on any number of chance-to-win gaming. (Not including out-and-out gambling at casinos and gambling resorts.) There are parts of the world where a lot of this is illegal, most likely because there has been so much fraud connected with these temptations for fortune. It seems like nearly everywhere you go to do business, for pleasure or perhaps even your mailbox (with companies such as Publishers Clearing House) have some type of chance-to-win game or sweeps offering incredible amounts of money (or pricey luxury items) as prizes. Even Avon gets into this once a year and they allow the representatives to participate! One hard and fast stipulation is that with sweepstakes they can’t require you to buy anything in order to have a chance to win something. So the theory goes…

     I admit that I have been caught up in this madness with free Monopoly game tickets supplied at specific grocery stores. I’ve been trying to win that one million dollar cash prize for going on four years now and I have won some prizes like $50 grocery gift cards or even $5 cash here and there. Winning anything will keep you trying, you know! I don’t know if the mentality of this is all that healthy but it certainly can make you a better consumer, in truth. Now that can’t be all bad, can it? LOL  If we could fathom what the chances actually are we most likely wouldn’t even start with the entering, buying or just collecting tickets. Free chances to win are the biggest draw. You won’t even notice that you actually are spending more money than you ought to, huh ? Wink.

     At any rate, there is always a chance to win the big prize. The doozy. One starts to think about the logistics of spending or keeping a million dollars. It can truly make your head swim! When that happens to me I usually just sit down and start reading a book. So much for getting overexcited. Can money buy you all the time in the world? It can if you want it to but there are many things money can’t buy. It won’t buy back your health and won’t make people care or have compassion. You may catch yourself overindulging in something you know is no good for you. It cannot ultimately bring you happiness. If you are not a happy person before you get the money, you most likely won’t be any happier after you do get it. For years I’ve quoted this because it’s true and KISS rock star Paul Stanley was the first to say it. “Money has the unique ability to help you forget about money.”  Indeed. One has to consciously and purposely ignore money. In adulthood, it’s irrelevant until you have to pay a bill or assume responsibility for something which gains its impetus on the spending and taking-in of cold, hard cash.

      The big smile you see in the photo below for this entry is a nameless winner of the jackpot for which she’s holding said ticket. That’s a lot of money even if she had to share a portion with other winners. Not a bad cash outlay- $5- to win perhaps $5 million or much more, huh? I’d be smiling like that, too, you know. Millions of dollars won is life changing money. You’ll notice that it’s a quick pick ticket so she didn’t choose any of the numbers on the ticket. “But what is that product that she’s holding bottoms-up in the photo?”, you ask. Notice that the number is an exact replication of the A-line on her ticket? Wasn’t this a quick pick? It certainly was and there is an astounding answer to those questions. Her Zone diet purchase lot number just happened to mirror her winning number! She noticed this shortly after she found out the ticket was a winner. (Not before, by what I understand.) Perhaps, it’s a sign- certainly not an omen but rather its opposite. It was not instrumental in her winning a dime and yet there it is in black and white- just in case she missed or decided not to play that day.

      I have a theory about this that may also make you think long and hard about chance or being lucky. To me, that’s a sign that she was destined to win that money almost like an approval seal from God. It was not luck, it was meant to happen. This may give you a better or different perspective on gambling but hopefully not to an extreme. All of these purveyors of sweepstakes and ticket-to-win gaming outlets always say, “You can’t win if you don’t play.” That’s true and healthy. Just keep it to moderation. Don’t let the idea of winning more money than you could ever in your lifetime accrue by any means take over your life and mind. Be grateful for what you have and just be happy. Bring happiness to that win and it can make all the difference in the quality of your life and those around you.

The Castle Lady