To be Rich

 If there was one person who has no faith in lottery comes into your mind, that’s me! I would not, as a rule, gamble my few cents for the lure of millions of pesos at stake. But when I see people flocking the lotto stands, the possibility of winning cocooned me. Yesterday, March 4, my mother and I strolled to SM Manila Mall enjoying my special leave in the office as we had to process the renewal of our passports before the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) that is stationed in the mall. After the prompt service rendered by the DFA officials, my mother and I decided to go on a window shopping (he..he..he..) My eyes glued then over the Bingo station in the mall. The possibility of winning the Bingo jackpot that day crossed my mind. What if I get lucky? What will I do with my money? Oh, what is the feeling of being rich? Of being a multi-millionaire or billionaire perhaps? Oopppsss….., let me wake up from my wildest dreams. I pretty knew that becoming an instant billionaire is ninety percent (90%) fiction and only one percent (1%) factual.  Possibility of winning is just as thousand miles away from the farthest planet in the universe. 

So what’s the use of dreaming? Getting rich in this era of scarcity seems like climbing on Mount Everest - the rocky and highest mountain in the world. It is a difficult thing to be accomplished, a difficult goal to be reached and I think an impossible wish to be granted. But I do not mean just a negative thing, betting on a lottery, as long as it does not become a habit, will not hurt. 

So if I get lucky, what will I do with my money? I believe that money is like manure. If you spread it with less fortunate, it does a lot of good. And if you just pile it up in the corner, it will stinks like a heap of garbage. It is not always the root of all evil. Rather, it is the root of everything good. Take this, if you have the money, it is easier to be kind. You can have many mouths to be fed, roof houses for the homeless, medicine and health services for the needy, books for the unlettered, schools to be build, churches to be rehabilitated or renovated, and livelihood programs for the less fortunate, jobless, and downtrodden. Indeed, many can benefit if one has a golden and magnanimous heart to share one’s blessings in life. 

I firmly believe that everything on earth has cause and effects and we do everything for a reason. Underlying with this principle are reasons which make the world go round in its path. We move because of money. And we always think that money should be everywhere. That it will keep the dying hopes to become alive and shattered dreams to be weaved again. It is worth to ponder this question: Why do I have to get a degree in college? Sure, for a job. And why am I craving for a job? To earn money.  Ultimately,   this story is as old as civilization. 

Money is also an assurance what we will be in the future. How can I become a lawyer if I can’t pay my way to college, buy pile of books needed for the bar exam? How can I press my mind to concentrate studying if my stomach is growling and still thinking to sell candies or any stuff for the transportation expenses? This is poverty; however, I believe that poverty should not be a hindrance to attain your goal in life. We know great personages whose life stories draw from rags to riches. We should emulate them and be ready to journey the seven seas. 

Still with having billions of bucks, I can acquire all the things I do not have. I can travel around the world and see the great sights I could never imagine. I can also ask the greatest mogul of fashion for fancy and dazzling clothes, the best perfume in town, paint the town red, and the latest hairstyle of the New York fashion models. 

I can do many more things with having lots of money. It indeed gives us the assurance and security in life. With money, I can do all stuff like that – giving hope to the underprivileged, make difference to the society, and opportunity for the dreamers. 

However, there’s one more thing I’ll never do with money – to misuse it for evil purpose. I won’t distort justice and liberty just because I have the means to do it. I won’t buy the love and respect of the people, instead, they have to love me for what I am, they have to love my strengths as well as my weaknesses, and they have to love what’s inside and outside of me. Lastly, they have to love me genuinely without hesitation and no doubt. I do not want to rule and be ruled with money. I’ll be contented to stay on average if becoming an instant billionaire would ruin my relation with God and the people around me. It is also noteworthy that money is not everything when one is in despair, it’s wholly important to call on God, our Savior and the Greatest Miracle.

“A change is brought about because ordinary people do extraordinary things.”