Hoping for a Miracle

Everyone’s dreaming about winning the biggest lottery jackpot in U.S. history. Interview people in ticket lines and they’ll list the kinds of cars, homes, and vacations they would buy, and how they would quit their jobs, retire, and donate money to relatives and friends, if they win. Are their dreams possible? The lottery bureau calculates a one in about three hundred million chance of winning. It’s safe to say the majority of people standing in long lines to buy a lottery ticket won’t see the money. Still, they stand, hoping for a chance at a new life. This lady has hopes, too:

                                         httpps://youtu.be/WbuzMZOYAJQ

 Hope is a powerful force with two different sources. Our hopes rest either on firm beliefs or doubtful fairy tales.What are you hoping for and which kind of hope is it?          

When A Dream Comes True

Can you answer the $2.5 billion question? I’ll give you a hint. An expensive rover space craft named Curiosity touched down on Mars this week.  If I were a genie, able to grant wishes with a blink of an eye, I would have popped into space and left a sign on the red planet. When the rover landed here’s the message it would photograph: No one’s here. Go home. Back on earth, that might confuse the scientists who dream about the possibility of past, present and future life forms on Mars.

I liked the 1960-70s “I Dream of Jeannie” show about a genie who tried to use her powers to solve her astronaut-master’s problems. She usually created messier situations, but like many old shows, everything turned out for the best. In real life, our wishes don’t always turn out the way we expect and our greatest wish may be the very thing what we don’t need. See if you agree with any of the third graders in this video:

Did you notice how none of the children wished for money? Perhaps the book they read beforehand influenced their answers, perhaps not. Perhaps they believe that money can’t buy happiness. Well, let consider what it can buy.  Imagine your wish for $2.5 billion came true, what would you do with the money?