“There’s a wonderful old Italian joke about a man who goes to church every day and prays before the statue of a great saint, begging, “Dear saint-please, please, please…give me the grace to win the lottery.” This lament goes on for months. Finally the exasperated statue comes to life, looks down at the begging man and says in weary disgust, “My son-please, please, please…buy a ticket.” 

These are two of my favorites messages by Elizabeth Gilbert. “Prayer is a relationship; half the job is mine. If I want transformation, but can’t even be bothered to articulate what, exactly, I’m aiming for, how will it ever occur?”

Why I love this message – Maybe the lottery odds are too steep a gamble for you, but what else do you find yourself wishing for? A career move, health goal, or maybe you just want a better relationship with your S.O., friend, or family member. Sometimes relationships just don’t work out, but I know lack of effort from either party usually doesn’t do any good. The truth is you can’t control people & a lot of other things, but surprisingly you can control you most of the time. You can draw up an intentional map to follow and get yourself closer to where you want to want to be. Even if your path isn’t quite an itinerary, it’s better than staying put and never knowing where you could have gone. Send in that application, buy some grapes vs Cheetos, make plans with that person you’re missing. Lady Luck is like everyone else – you can’t make her love you. What you can do is show her you’re trying, and maybe she’ll call you back one day.