If you live in my state and you win more than $700 you can't pick up your winnings at the local store where you purchased your ticket - you need to present in person at the state lottery commission. Here's the deal - the lottery commission is tied to the Department of Health and Welfare and the State Tax Commission - so if you owe either back child support or state tax, you are in for a rude awakening. Not only will those back payments be taken out before you receive any monies but if you owe more than you have won - you still have to pay taxes on the newfound wealth of yours. It could cost you Big Time to win the lotto...
This information could not make me happier. The superhero in me sports a big grin just thinking about it. In a world where fairness seems to be elusive at times, this little bit of information reminds me, it is still about the little things. It also reminds me that those same rules apply to me too.
Unfairness is a fact of life. It is a part of life. There are always going to be people prettier, skinnier, smarter, funnier, wealthier and more creative than me. There are also going to be people uglier, fatter, dumber, poorer and less creative than me.
So What?
How does that apply to me?
How does that affect what I do?
How does that affect how I act?
My hope is that I keep pressing on. To understand life as it has been given to me. To weave into my life, a general sense that fairness or the lack of, is a normal part of life's process and that I can choose to be happy with myself, no matter what. Not when I lose 20 pounds or have more money in savings or am nicer than my neighbor. To learn to be content with myself no matter what Tom, Dick or Harry are doing. I truly believe if we could accept ourselves with more compassion, it would play out in our everyday lives. Learning to be happy with my self, now that would be winning the Big Time...
