Odds are Good, but Pickins are Slim

I recently visited a meeting on a topic of interest primarily to men. Out of 30 attendees, only 4 women attended. When a female acquaintance joined me at my table, she noted the few women at the meeting and said she thought the odds were good she’d find a man to connect with since the subject matter was of mutual interest. After a few minutes of scanning the room, she sighed and said that although the room was filled with men, she found none of them suited her. This observation led her to surmise that although the odds were good she would meet someone, the selection was limited.

Life offers us choices and opportunities in almost every aspect of our day to day living. When we look at each situation, and the possibilities it holds, we see many available outcomes or solutions available to us. Most often restrictions of options loom before us leaving the chances of success limited. Conversely on other occasions, we see the probability of success great, but the roads to that end are narrow and crooked. Until we create both high probability of success with multiple desirable options, the most common scenario we see in our world appears to have good odds, but limited options.

Odds are Good
The “odds are good” grows more evident because over the past 20years or so, new thought philosophy taught us to create what we want in our world and look for ways for it to manifest. We increased our chances for achievement by retraining our minds and thought patterns to see how to make lemonade from the lemons handed to us. Therefore, we can turn almost any undesirable situation into a pitcher of potential by looking at it differently. In short, through optimism and noticing life’s little gifts, we increase our odds by believing that what we want is truly attainable in almost any given circumstance.

Pickins are Slim
When the “pickins’ are slim” we find limitation and discrimination wherever we look. In a forest of available options, within every tree of choice, we find the bark of negativity, the sap of distaste and the pulp of dissatisfaction. When the Universe presents us with a myriad answers to our requests in the form of great odds, we find a way to chop down the possibilities and grind them to dust with our attitude. A log jam of potential awaits if we can only see the forest for the trees and discern the true gift from Spirit among the undergrowth of confusion.

What do you want?
After many misguided and not so carefully worded declarations for our heart’s desire, we learn by trial and error to clearly identify what we think we want. Then, as options present themselves through the blessings in life, we systematically dismiss them one by one, deeming each not a direct or perfect answer to our prayers. So, we believe if we refine our request down to minutiae of detail, only then can the Universe serve up what we ordered. Instead of enjoying the vast possibilities which miraculously appear as answers and opportunities, we spend our present moments picking apart what’s wrong, and never marvel at the gifts Spirit put before us! Our “now” is consumed by focusing on what’s wrong instead of how our dreams are answered. Perhaps the biggest thing we miss in this futile exercise remains that we miss the point that our “pickins” even showed up!

Why settle for less?
So many times we hear that people settle for things in life such as an occupation, a job, a mate or even a vacation! Can you imagine? “Settling” for a vacation? The very notion that you can even take time off of work to travel somewhere and enjoy the fruits of your labors should be the gift in itself! Yet, with tummies filled by instant gratification, we take so many things for granted. We think if we agree to one level of goodness in our lives, we say NO to all the rest, and possibly better things. Depending on the level of commitment involved in our choice, changing our minds is almost always an option. If we delay and delay our good by rejecting one option over another, are we not settling to be unsettled?

Dare to pick something odd!
We harbor so many judgments on our choices, our boat never pulls away from the dock. We worry about what others think about what we want, then we ponder what our choice says about us, then we wonder if something is better and we’re missing out. In the dog pound of life, we select a dog who touches us, whom we can’t resist. Does it matter that his tail is too long or his ears are too short? We see the connection between what we want and who we are, and unapologetically, we adopt the most endearing pooch. We then proudly walk with our new best friend in the streets of town, happily displaying our luck in finding a good fit.

In life, the true miracles lie in the many choices Spirit presents to us, not in how closely each opportunity matches our carefully guarded pickins’. The odds are ALWAYS good for our happiness and highest and best, and the pickins’ are a matter of attitude and gratitude. Today, give thanks for all you have and hope to have, and appreciate the true gift of variety and creativity offered to you. Choose the present moment!