A Guest of the World: Dave Keller

In his book of meditations, A Guest of the World, Jeffrey Lockwood describes how insights can lurk in the most ordinary of objects:

"I don't enter raffles believing that I'll win. ... But being something of an unwitting connoisseur of raffle tickets, I've come to realize that often they include an unexpectedly compelling insight. On one side is a string of numbers, reflecting the utter arbitrariness with which the world seems to unfold. There might also be a list of prizes, the items that can be won with a bit of luck. ...

But the real insight is printed on the back of the ticket, where few people bother to look. Raffle tickets warn us, "You must be present to win." In life, showing up is often the battle. But of course, simply being somewhere physically is not the same as being present. I don't know how many drawings I might have won if I'd been present. But I do know that if life is a raffle, you can't possibly win if you're not there...."