For better for worse
Even though we know that casinos always end up with the money, we all want to believe the good news they broadcast. A lottery ticket is full of promise, so innocent and tempting. Betting seems to be part of our nature. And as people have cast lots since the beginning of time, you could be forgiven for thinking that by now we would be excellent judges of a safe bet. Despite literally millennia of practice, we invariably fail. A bet to win money seems to be straightforward, quick and easy, but this is the most precarious type and the odds will always be stacked so heavily against us that we are bound to lose. It is almost as though we do not want to win. Is the thrill enough? Why does it never last for long?
A leap of faith
So perhaps the problem is not that we need to take a leap of faith from time to time – because that is what makes us human – but that we are perhaps leaping in the wrong direction. The smell of quick wins is too pungent for us to ignore. We wonder about ways to improve the odds in our favour. All the time knowing that where there are winners there are often a lot more losers. If any other product had as little chance of fulfilling your expectations as a lottery ticket, it would be socially reprehensible. There would be legislation against it.
Place your bets
A leap of faith is a good human attribute and if we use it in tandem with our intellect we can improve our lives. The way to improve your chances when you have a flutter is to change the conversation, so to speak. To gamble on a safe bet and a bet where everyone is a winner. Through investing in art or design. Not to make a steal, or for financial gain. Why is it a gamble? Well who knows how long the thrill will last? However, having beautiful and inspiring things around us and in our lives enriches us. So with winners all round and the odds stacked in favour of your happiness. Even for a better, that’s got to be better.