The price of a little dreaming

Dream a little dream 

There’s much written and talked about the psychology of lottery ticket buying. Some say that you’re already making a loss when you hand over your hard-earned cash, choose your lucky numbers and then wait with anticipation for the draw.

If you’re amongst the ranks of the disappointed millions then you’ve not only lost your stake but also your dreams have been crushed.

Buying a lottery ticket is tapping in to your lucky streak and conjuring up a host of images about what your perfect life will look like once you’ve hit the jackpot. 

I own a frigging island!

Your hopes and dreams come alive and, in front of your eyes as if on a conveyor belt, passes all of the life’s luxuries that have your name on it – designer clothes and shoes, a  brand spanking new eight bedroomed home complete with walk-in wardrobes and five acres of landscaped gardens in the best neighbourhood,  a couple of convertibles and four wheel drives, playbooks and electronic tablets that you can just hand out to friends and family  like jelly beans, holiday apartments,  cottages and vacations (adventuresome / relaxing)  to every corner of the globe (the world gets real small when you’re one of the big winners!). 

Lady Gaga of the Lottery

There’s an innate belief in all of us that we’re lucky. Lady Luck smiles on us but she sometimes excludes us from the fold. She’s a fickle taskmaster who only bestows good fortune on the chosen few or so we believe when we’re nursing our losses. But she never turns against us completely and so we carry on religiously purchasing our ticket and checking the numbers.

The Alps don't cost me a thing!

Some people will say that this is deluded behavior.
Millions upon millions of losers playing a game in which there are just a few or even one winner. Well, I say play on.

This is wealth creation and the organizations behind the lottery filter some of the funds into charitable ventures. This assists with poverty alleviation and when winners spend their windfall on services or goods money circulates and contributes to a healthful economy. 

Some lottery winners are generous. They pay off the mortgages of their friends and family, treat them to unexpected, lavish gifts and fill their world with happiness, as they define it. Money doesn’t buy ultimate happiness but it provides temporary pleasures (and who couldn't use a few of those?!).

I’ve seen the lights in childrens’ eyes – or is that dollar signs (!!??)- when they get to swim with dolphins and meet their favourite Disney heroes. When grandma is able to travel first class to long haul destinations to be reunited with family, Mum gets regular pampering sessions and doesn’t have to work right up to retirement, Dad can finally achieve his ambition of learning to fly a bi-plane and struggling friends and relatives are relieved of their financial burdens by the largesse of a winner, then we should all be celebrating. 

Dreams are good for the soul

Some lottery winners are mean and stay that way despite their new found millions. That’s human nature and there are two sides to every coin. I don’t want to devote any blog space to these close minded and tight fisted people. In my opinion they’re miserly whether they’re rich or poor and, in my book, they’re life’s losers!

It's for sharing

When lottery winners fritter away their money, the organizers get a bad press though it’s a powerful assertion of human rights.

It’s your money to spend how you please. The tax man can’t touch it. You’ll have investment houses hounding you and if you haven’t the good sense to take them up on their offers that’s your look-out!

I feel like a million dollars even when I don't win

I don’t play the lottery very often but I never stand in the way of others doing so. I don’t have any sanctimonious offerings on the subject. You might be the goose that lays the golden ticket and I wouldn’t deprive you of the chance of unlimited wealth.

If the lottery spreads a little optimism and helps dreamers dream a little bigger then who am I to pour cold water on that. 

The price of a ticket is minimal but only you know the true value you place on that.
 Dreams, after all, are personal and happiness is up to you….even when you don’t have the winning numbers.

If you were a winner I’d love to know how you’d spend those zillions. 
Let me know by leaving a comment.