It should be said that I've never won anything in my life. Nothing. Zippo. I don't even think I've won something like $20; it's almost absurd. However, for things you don't want, I seem to have a bit of luck in that arena. Hmph. Therefore, I don't have much hope for the winning part. Hell, I've been entering Sweetwater Sound raffles for 2 decades now and I've never even won a pack of guitar strings. I just have no luck at all.
As for the rich aunt or uncle, well, I don't have one of those either. In fact, all of my aunts and uncles have passed and they barely even acknowledged my existence at times (a whole different story there). And so, my wish I think has fallen on deaf ears all the way around and I'm most likely proverbially screwed.
I would like to add, though, I don't have this wish because I either want to live a lavish lifestyle nor am I lazy and don't want to work. In fact, I've always had this wish for the exact opposite reason; I just want to focus on my arts, and yes, I use that word plural because IF I had the time I'd be branched out probably in about 4-6 different directions. I would dare say that I'd be just as busy if I was working a day job and quite possibly even busier. I have sooooo many ideas that it's ridiculous; the problem is I have so very little spare time.
This leads me to a phenomenon that I've personally never understood. In talking to people in the workplace over the years, when I've mentioned I've love 3-4 weeks off at a time rather than the ridiculous one week, I have often heard, "oh, well, you'd get bored. I know I get bored being at home with the kids. I look forward to going back to work usually." Yes, this puzzles me beyond belief, and if this doesn't say something about what's wrong with society then, well, I don't what does. Let me tell you super straight forward - this would not happen in my case, in fact it's physically impossible, in my eyes.
I don't think I've personally been truly "bored" in about 15+ years. In fact, since life feels like it moves at a faster speed year after year, I have felt for some time like I'm on an unwilling roller coaster ride where the mechanism just keeps speeding up over and over even though I keep waving frantically to the operator to slow it down. I don't remember what being "bored" felt like, it's been that long. Now, that's not to say that I haven't had small moments of physical boredom, mind you, but it really has been at least 2 decades since I had to sit around and give it serious thought as to what I should be doing at that very moment. In fact, my todo list is so incredibly long that if written out on paper it would probably cover the entire state of Rhode Island.
Let's be honest - life isn't great these days. We're all going through some version(s) of tough times but one thing I always say...the answer to most people's issues is getting a hobby, and I mean one that actually really encompasses your time. I think most people would seriously be more content if they had something that they really cared about to focus on, and of course that comes in a variety of flavors. In my viewpoint, actual "boredom" is a bit of an enemy of human existence since we all want to feel useful on some level. I can tell you firsthand that without my artistic endeavors I would probably perish because it's the only thing really in life that makes me feel like "me" and fulfilled as a person. I simply can't stress this enough.
Having said all of that, if anyone would like to leave me a lump sum of money out of the kindness of their hearts so that I could explore these endeavors, I can only say that I'd put it to good use and try to make the best art possible. I would most certainly write a huge 'thank you' to you in whatever art I created, and if so desired, hell, I'll even write you a song...just say the word. Or, if you prefer, I'll make a film about you...it's your choice. Since that probably won't ever happen, though, I'll make do with the chaos of living at least dual lives on a daily basis, probably until I drop from pure exhaustion. I've never gotten much financial support in my life so I probably would be completely dumbfounded by it anyway, and I haven't exactly been brimming over with moral support either. It's been a tough ride.
Now, if only I could ever take a real vacation...but that's another story as well.
