The airplane - Lottery - Articles about Israel

Luck
is what happens
when preparation
meets opportunity
- Darrell Royal

Are losers really winners? Certainly - and they are similar to many other opposites.

Consider the person who missed an airplane flight. He was stranded at the airport, and he won�t arrive at his destination for another two days.

Our friend had already arranged for vacation from work. He wasted two of his valuable vacation days waiting for his flight to leave. He cannot go about his regular business because all of his belongings have been packed. His business contacts assume that he is already on vacation.

What a waste! Two days out of his life are lost because he missed a plane by five minutes. What a shame! He complains and criticizes his bad luck. He lost the lottery. He�s a loser.

Or is he?

There may be no way to know what he may have avoided by missing that plane. Who knows what tragedy awaited him? There's also no way of knowing how his luck may have changed for the better, now that he waited two days and got the next plane.

Perhaps he will meet someone on his next flight who will make some change in his life or business

Perhaps he will not meet that someone, who did get on the flight he missed - and who will prevent a change in his business or life

Perhaps he owes his life to the way in which his luck (read: G-d's providence) has changed. He may have enjoyed greater success from a venture that he cannot envision at this time - all because he missed the plane

Does that imply that people necessarily benefit from negative events that do not occur? Does that mean that people usually win the lottery, instead of losing it?

Of course not.

Sometimes avoiding certain danger or not being involved in a serious problem does mean that you lost, and that ultimately you do face a worse situation.

You never know.

Where do you want to go now?