Really, they don't happen, Big Things, no matter how much we want them to.

For example, there's the Big Thing that I've been hoping for ever since The Great Hormone Revolution of 1972. That's never happened. Came close-ish a few times, perhaps, and maybe even very close once, I like to tell myself, but it's remained stubbornly elusive. The effects of long-term hope are of course deeply damaging, and easily spotted by even the most casual observer.

So I should take that as a cautionary tale, and learn from it. There's stuff in my life now that contains vague, tantalising possibilities of Big Things. I must not fixate on those possibilities, must not hope too hard. Dream, by all means, but I mustn't rely on the Big Things coming - concentrate on the here and now, enjoy the things that come my way, and expect nothing.   Otherwise my finances are likely to end up as distressed as the emotional bankruptcy caused by the Other Big Thing.