I bought a lottery ticket two weeks ago hoping that with a little luck I might win. Odds on the back of the ticket stated one in 262,589,650 to win. And as you might guess I did not win.

Last week I bought a lower-end lottery ticket with stated odds of one in 250,000 to win. With my somewhat reasoned thinking I told myself perhaps a second opportunity might present better odds. And hey, you never know; lady luck might pay a visit.  After all, odds were better than the first shot. Nope.  Lost again.

Kinda reminded me of my life...a life of strife, traumas, and bollixed opportunities that never worked out. I more or less wandered around in a state of survival, waiting for the next bomb of bad trauma to present itself. Hope wanes during times of attempted suicides, abandonments and a myriad of diagnosed maladies assigned to me by docs and interns. PTSD is the most accurate one and one to live with for a lifetime. Some of us became good at fighting to survive. And survive we do, living with the battle scars of traumas, triggers, blackouts and the knowing and unknowing damage we cause in relationships and acquaintances.

But wait a minute! This just hit me like a ton of bricks. The new weapons we have: coping skills, veterans hotline, PTSD therapy and much more, all designed to help regain quality in our lives without having to rely on a spark of long odds with some lotto ticket.

But the biggest winner of all is YOU because of a guaranteed ticket you purchased some time ago and didn’t know was a winner. And it was! You enlisted, willing to put your life on the line to preserve a way of free life for others and to defend our great United States of America. Yes, you had that—the biggest guaranteed win any person could have.

Who are you? You are a huge winner and always will be. Others tell you “thank you for your service,” and humbly you accept the remark. Maybe it’s time YOU realized just how great a  person you are. You are the cream of the crop and always will be. Be proud, hold your head up and smile. And by the way, I thank you for your service, but more importantly I thank you for being you! 

Author’s Note: For the past 75 years I have been struggling, surviving, and fighting chronic ptsd.  Through inspiration and guidance I find new thoughts and ideology to write.  It is my fervent desire to help other veterans.  And this is the only way I know.