Publisher's Note

Publisher’s Note
It was 22 years ago when I arrived in Canada and chose Calgary, Alberta to be my home. Leaving my family and friends behind, it was a new adventure for me to be in a new country without knowing anyone. That was the time I looked for a Filipino community paper and never found any, [...]
Read full post »

Visitors to Pinoytimes

Start of StatCounter Code

End of StatCounter Code

Page added on June 16, 2016

Email This Post Printable version

Print This Post

ERWINISM: The Winning Number

By Erwin Maramat

They say that if your palms itch, it is a sign of good luck without considering that it might just be primary biliary cirrhosis, but we take our chances anyway and buy a lottery ticket. I find people lining up at a counter patiently waiting for their turn to put their hopes on their numbers hoping it would give them a chance in this life. You often find people with wandering eyes and smiles slowly building up, or with a pained stare and agonizing deep sighs in these places. I hate to rain on your parade but there is a greater chance for one to be struck by a meteorite according to Review Journal than win a lottery.

Why do people heavily rely on lotteries? A lot of people think it’s their only way out; out of the rat race; out of their misery. Well, who doesn’t want an easy ticket, right? They dream of mansions, fancy cars, clothes, jewelleries, and world tours. Before could actually anyone win they have already frivolously spent their fortune and they’re probably broke at the end of their stupor.

Do you ever whisper a prayer wishing you could win the lottery? Of course you do, all of us do once in a while. It’s strange that we do, knowing that God gives opportunities and not in the form that we have in mind. It is always in our nature to be able to get form one point to the other without any difficulty, so as a result some people resort engaging in something illegal because it is the easiest way to get rich. People would rather believe in chances than in themselves, and it’s saddening.

Even today, at this day and age, people still desperately believe in superstition. People have faith in in horoscopes even with the knowledge that the stars up there are just hot balls of gases. We ought to know better. Everything you are and have today is the exact summation of countless thousands of little choices and decisions you made from the day you were first consciously able to make such choices. And stating it simply, those choices were mainly between action and inaction. Or putting it another way, between action and laziness according to Stuart Goldsmith. It is up to us and not luck to put us where we are and where want to be.

Many of us do not realize that the day we were born we have already won the lottery. Of the billions that could have been here, we were the ones chosen to perform life-changing choices and yet we leave them all to chance. People often see the magnificent product of sheer mastery from countless hours of practice and the royalties that go with it and they say that person is lucky without taking into account the sacrifices made to get them where they are. Everyone wants to see a miracle, but most of the time doubt creeps in and we readily put emptiness in its place and claim to see nothing. When you get down on your knees and bow your head next time ask God for wisdom and opportunity and not the winning numbers. Ask him for opportunity to be more literate, after all, how many times have we witnessed people declaring bankruptcy simply because they don’t know what to do with their fortune.

If you are here, you have already won. Both rich and poor have the same amount of time in their day, it’s just a matter how productively those minutes are used and if you spend hours on your phone, tablet or Xbox, think again. You can be out there making the most out of your life. Why not put a bet on yourself and create your own luck? Those who dream big take their time making it happen and with a spark of brilliance it can ignite a world filled with light. Trust your wisdom let it lead you to discovering and creating something worthwhile which can stand the test of time.

Who needs the lottery when you have faith in what you do, or can do, and the more you take action the more chances of winning. Next time someone is asking for a lucky number give them your phone number.

ERWINISM: The Winning Number

pinoytimes.ca © 2009