Rigged

“Live life as if everything is rigged in your favor.” – Rumi

What if everything was rigged in your favor? 

What if you considered this for a moment? That it might all be rigged in your favor? How would the lens in which you observe life change? If you took a moment and considered … everything is skewed … in your favor …

This is not a new concept, of course. Yet. How many of us take it to heart? Really walk through the world with a wildly bold assumption that it’s all rigged … in our very own favor? I’d say not many of us. But, what if we imagined it for a few moments? What if we practiced it for a few weeks? What if we taught our children to shift their own mindsets? Rigged. What would the trickle down effect be?

Years ago, I heard Katie Wood give a speech about this and it struck me. I had long thought that things that seem like huge inconveniences (missed flights, flat tires, oversleeping, etc) might be blessings in disguise … saving us from something else, entirely unknown. I had attempted to live my life with this type of trust in the universe, in God. But, this was the first time I’d considered it in a less abstract way. Rigged. As a practice. Not always easy. Not always natural. But, a lovely approach to life.

Recently, the mindset of Rigged has made itself front and center again. As if it’s trying to dust off the cobwebs of time and capture my full attention once more. It’s forced its way into the light. It’s been  chasing me around. I love it when that happens. It’s popping up everywhere!

God is always working behind the scenes.

Our attitude always matters.

Then. My son tried out for a travel hockey team and didn’t make it. Real life, huh? Disappointments are part of the gig. Yet, while we are so human and disappointment is inevitable, how we respond is completely within our control. We had an opportunity. If it’s all rigged in our favor, then we can look this disappointment in the eye and say, “This sucks. This isn’t what I wanted. I feel sad. I’m bummed. AND/ALSO. I know that God has my back. If I trust that God has it all rigged in my favor, then I trust that this isn’t meant for me RIGHT NOW.” It’s faith. A deep knowing that while we can want something for ourselves, we ultimately want what God wants even MORE. He can see it all. Omnipresence. Our whole lives in one moment. We can’t. If I had to choose between my own meager vision or God’s vision – knowing He can see the entire big picture … all zoomed out and panoramic with a truer understanding of how the cards all fall … well I’d choose HIS every time. If I trust that He has my back, then I can trust that when things don’t work out the way that I want … it’s FOR me. There is something better for me.

If we can just figure out how to grasp this and embrace this mindset – WHEN we figure out how to grasp it and embrace it – freedom will come and take our breath away. Colors burst through the sky, exploding out and drenching everything in its wake. Suddenly, this world, with all of its messiness, looks a bit more beautiful. It’s still raw. It’s still hard. But, it’s lighter and brighter.

It’s rigged. Thank goodness.