Small Lottery
- Marie
- Mar 4
- 2 min read
After I became a member of my spiritual teacher’s online community, I watched a members-only live stream for the first time.
During that stream, I learned that there was a giveaway of souvenirs he had purchased at places he visited on spiritual journeys.
To enter the giveaway, all you had to do was click the heart icon on the page.
I clicked the heart “Like.”
About two weeks later, I watched the next live stream, which featured a simple guided imagery work.
At the end of the stream, the winners of the giveaway were announced.
The process was very analog: during the live stream, lots of small pieces of paper with all the applicants’ names written on them were put into a lottery box, and the teacher drew the winning names from the box.
The prizes were either wood-carved keychains or colorful small plates from Taiwan.
There were 2,333 applicants, and only eight winners in total, so the odds were quite low.
I was excited like a child about the draw and wrote in the chat, “It is fun even if I do not win.”
The teacher pulled slips out of the box one after another and read the names written on them.
Seven winners were announced, leaving only one remaining.
Then, the teacher pulled out the last slip and said, “Marie,” holding up the small piece of paper with the name and membership number written on it toward the camera.
It was my name, but since it is a common name, I thought it might be someone else.
After the stream ended, I checked the archive and confirmed my membership number – it was me.
I was neither surprised nor excited; I just murmured, “It is me.”
Just before my name was drawn, there were 2,326 name slips in the box, so the probability at that point was quite low.
However, I have long believed that luck does not exist, so I accepted the result calmly, with gratitude.
One reason I attracted the gift might have been that, among all the applicants, I was the one least attached to winning and the one enjoying the moment the most.
Later, the gift arrived at my home. When I opened the box, there was a small wooden dragon keychain.
Receiving this first gift after joining the community was a sign—including my meeting with the teacher—that I was on the right path.
That keychain, which I still keep carefully by my bedside, reminds me that there is no such thing as luck or coincidence.
With gratitude,
Marie