"What Do You Really Want?"

I have always been of the philosophy that we have what we want.  If you want fame and fortune, you put yourself on the path towards that objective.  If you want a life of quiet solitude, you will choose a lifestyle that accommodates your desire for peace.  The opportunities that we select are based on what we want. A noisy baby will be quieted by being held, or food, or rocking, depending on what he wants. A young child will choose a red crayon to color a house because it best describes her vision of her world. The short 12 years old chooses soccer over football because he hasn’t got much of a chance in the NFL. The young woman chooses a college that offers an excellent program in Nursing because she sees the huge potential for career longevity with a decent salary.  We all have something in mind for what we truly want.  But we often sabotage our efforts along the way because we are afraid of success and the expectations that accompany it.  We take short cuts that take us around Robin Hoods Barn! We find that the path we chose is harder than we thought! And sometimes we find that what we thought we wanted… wasn’t that great.

That’s why we’re all figuring out how we’re going to spend $550 million dollars after we hit the mega million.  Because maybe it will BUY us what we really want.  Unfortunately,history does not indicate that it will go that way. If you’re not happy with your life now, you’re not likely to happy after you win (though you may have some fun before you declare bankruptcy when it’s all gone). But the bottom line is.. what do you really want?  I’ll be honest with you.  Shoes.  I want shoes. I do not know how anyone ever works in a shoes store because how can they possibly resists all the pretty shoes?????  I once walked into my house with what was obviously a shoe box.  My then teenage son looked at me and said “How in the world can you justify what is in that box????”  I said “I don’t have to.”  End of story!  But in my mind, I have justified it.  I have a disease.  It’s called “The Cinderella Complex” (ok, I made it up but it’s still real!) You see, no matter how you feel, ugly, old, fat, skinny, …you slip on a beautiful pair of shoes, look down and say “ Ooooh wee, I sure do look fine and these babies are coming home with me!” You know, glass slipper thing. My brother once asked me how many pairs of shoes I owned.  I asked him if flip flops counted.  He said “YEAH.” (like I was stupid or something). I said “I don’t know.” He said “how is that possible that you don’t know?”  I simply said that I don’t want to know. (because then I would have to acknowledge my “disease” and do something about it.)  

My life is good.  I have all I really need to survive. And if I hit the big jackpot, I’m giving most of it away because I don’t need it.  But we all know how this is going to play out though.  If I win, there is going to be one hell of shopping day and you are all invited to join me.  Please keep in mind, we are not looking at jewels, clothes, handbags, home furnishings, electronics, or cars.  We’re buying shoes. And we’re not going to the clearance rack or count how many shoes we bought. Then whatever’s left, I’ll give away and try to do some good in the world. Maybe I’ll make sure that every little girl that wants a pretty pair of shoes will have them.  Then set up a network of support groups for “The Cinderella Complex”.