The Winning Ticket

The Dubai Shopping Festival brought with it the opportunity to win a Lexus car everyday! I remember the cars parked outside petrol stations purchasing their lucky tickets. Since the ticket itself was quite expensive, often friends or colleagues at work would contribute to the cost hoping to share the win! 

The belief was strong. Intuitions were adamant upon a victory. And all the while, I would wonder, what lead people to play this gamble, with the precious money that they would never otherwise spend on anything else.

I was at school and the biggest optimist declared in the staff room, “ I’ve got about 400 now. Who else would like to contribute?” She looked at me. “ What about you Shama? Come on, give it a try. Imagine when they announce our winning ticket number!” And everyone laughed. 

I didn’t have the least bit of winning sensation. “Why do you feel that your ticket will be the lucky one?” I asked out of curiosity. “If you ask me, I will win it because it’s about time we started building our own house. I don’t want to go back to India and live in a rented house. What’s the point of being here so many years and return empty handed?”

She looked at the next contributor who acknowledged her thoughts. “Very true. For me, I have no plans to go back to Pakistan. My husband and myself have applied for Canadian Immigration. It’s quite an expensive venture. I would definitely fly away with that money!” There was more laughter. 

The Arabic teacher sat on the other end of the room enjoying the dry fruit. “What silly plans! If I have that kind of money, I will disappear!” The staff turned towards her, applauding her sense of humour. 

“Thank god we don’t have her name in this ticket!” exclaimed the young lady with a pretty smile. “This money holds promises of a secure and happy future for me. It will be nice to start life with some comfort. Getting married here, is quite expensive. Do you know the cost of a banquet hall alone is such a ridiculous price?” Her eyes were wide open in amazement.

“Why do you worry? With the money we WILL WIN, you can have a grand wedding with a long honey moon in Europe!” The old lady from Kenya added on! The recess was about to get over. I looked at the dark complexioned woman whom everyone had a lot of respect for. “Ms. K, What would you do with so much money?” I wanted to investigate her thoughts as she had married children and apparently had wrapped up most of her pertinent responsibilities. Why did she want to win a lottery?

“It’s strange to you that I wish to win this amount. But really, I feel I deserve some comfort at the end of my journey. I can’t even remember, when I got old. The years just slipped through worrying about the education of my children and the need to always have a job. Now, I would like to enjoy a Moroccan bath and have a house with a big pool in the backyard! Live my life like a First Lady!”

Quite a lot of dreams had been invested in those 400 dirhams. I thought to myself, if I contribute to this rosy picture, how would I get to celebrate the sweep?

My mind could not picture much. I was afraid to own that kind of money. It would trigger the mind to shift focus from what is real to something that does not exist. It would dissolve the ability to appreciate the smaller things in life. It’s intoxicating presence in life would allude me from the circle of real friends. I would disappear in a big villa and just lose the compulsion of ending a fight with my husband, with no where to hide in a two bedroom apartment. The treasure of enjoying the simple outings in long drives would get replaced by formalities of a five star hotel. 

The bell rang and the recess was over.

No! I was the queen of my land and was just not ready to give away my kingdom for such a small price.

We buy lottery tickets thinking that they hold the very spirit of our dreams and joys. We believe, we have not yet encountered our greatest achievements or met with our much deserved luck. We look forward to tomorrow oblivious of the opportunities that surround us today. 

The winning ticket does not come as a serial number. It requires a sound functioning of our five senses. Success is truly defined as the ability to acknowledge the present in all its grandeur.