"I'm Feeling Lucky Today"

How much did they win this time???  Anyone hear about or perhaps even play the latest lottery?  Wow!!!  What a serious amount of money, huh?  Ever felt like your life would be better, challenges disappear, and constant happiness would be forever found if such luck would only happen to you?  Kim pointed me to an interesting article recently about so many past huge lottery winners who, after a relatively short period of time, found themselves broke or worse, even in prison.  All the scientific research on happiness shows that after basic needs are met with a baseline financial level reached, more and more money doesn't bring more happiness into our lives.  In fact, many of the past lottery winners even reported being less happy than before they won.  How does this happen?  Is it possible that such a windfall might actually be a curse? 

I wonder if 'Chasing' isn't coming into play here, maybe even for all of us from time to time?  Could it be that no matter how much money one gets, there will always be more to chase after?  Could whatever sum of money never in fact be key to satisfying whatever unmet desire or need we think we may still have in order to finally be happy or happier?  While I feel pretty confident that our family won't ever fall into the lottery kind of money to personally experience the opportunities and challenges this would bring, I can't help but think we already have more than enough, with all of our needs met.  Oh wait, there is that college thing looming, isn't there?  HA!

Perhaps the flip side of the happiness equation is simply working to be content with modest desires and needs?  I suppose most of us could probably use a bit extra here and there, but don't we really already have plenty to spare?  If you stop and think about it, most of us are already living better than kings and queens of old, aren't we?  Could we somehow choose to stop 'Chasing' after more and more and stop "Biggering" as Dr. Seuss once wrote?  Could we trade striving for arriving?  Could we let go of that crazy idea that somehow our lives would be forever, positively changed if we would simply win the lottery and get this or that, whatever this or that happens to be?  Rather, could we 'Simplify' our desires and needs and 'Let go' of our 'Clinging' to literally all of our current material possessions, in order to find a certain peace and richness beyond what our ego tells us would be so great?  Isn't this simply illusory?  Could we simply 'Be grateful and content' with our lives just as they are right now? 

"What's that Jonah?  You say you are feeling lucky today.  Well then perhaps we should buy a ticket and just see what happens?  On second thought, maybe we shouldn't.  After all, we are already so lucky every day."