COMMENT
Imagine not buying a ticket for this week's $43 million Lotto draw. Not because you're Jeff Bezos-rich but because you are content with what you have. As Epictetus wrote: "Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants." Unfortunately, I haven't got there yet. Like everyone else who bought a Lotto ticket last week when it was at a mere $38m, I have a bunch of wants. I've spent much of the last seven days thinking about the Aston Martin Rapide I'd buy. A four-door that's every inch a sports car. A powerful V12 that only weighs 1990kg. Luxurious and fast but practical too. Room in the back for the kids.
Is daydreaming all week about $400,000 cars the best use of your time? We could use that brain space to come up with amazing ideas. Even better, we could zone in and enjoy just being alive. Chances are if you live in New Zealand, your life is already pretty good. Instead of fantasising about obscene riches, you could just experience the moment you are in. Nah! We wanna win the Lotto.
The truth is we will never win $43m. Someone might. But it's very very unlikely that will be you or me. We can, however, experience the sensation. All you have to do is strip naked and sit in the South African wilderness for three weeks. I interviewed Amber and Serena Shine on my Radio Hauraki Breakfast show recently. They're twins from Waiuku who spent 21 days in the Limpopo province stark naked with nothing but a machete and a bow and arrow to hunt for food.
They didn't catch anything to eat for eight days. It was unbelievably rough. Even sleeping hurt. Their modern bed-loving bodies quickly became bruised and beaten-up by the hard ground. When they finally managed to hunt, kill and cook an impala, they claim it "felt like winning Lotto". It's a matter of perspective. Under those circumstances, an impala carcass feels like $43m.