That distant star where we are FREE

A person will sometimes devote all his life to the development of one part of his body - the wishbone. Robert Frost

When I was a child, I wished for many things. A red rubber ball one Christmas, a bride's doll for another. I wished I didn't have to share my Easter chocolate with my sister and that Santa didn't keep a list. I wished for children in Africa to quit starving so that I could quit feeling guilty about not cleaning my plate and I wished I'd grow up already so that I could live my life the way I wanted (and that wish always included a stomping of my right foot for emphasis.)

I wished upon falling stars and rabbit's feet. I wished I had x-ray vision and healing touch. I wished I was a movie star, a famous doctor healing people in Africa. I wished and I wished and nothing really changed about who I was other than time did catch up to my wishes and one day I was all 'growed up' and people stopped asking, "what do you want to be when you're all grown up" and started expecting me to be grown up.

I've spent a lot of time 'wishing', and sometimes bemoaned the fact my wishes didn't come true. Though I did once wish for a story to write and got one in the form of The Dandelion Spirit! And while it's true I had to live the experience to get the story, I'm grateful for the wish that set that story free so that other's could heal through its expression!

In all our lives there are stories we tell, stories we hold onto, stories we wish for, if only.

If only... I was taller, younger, prettier, smarter, richer, bigger, smaller, happier, older...

If only... I could go back and, change direction, re-write the script, re-direct traffic.

If only... I knew the answer. Could see the future. Could erase the past.

A question I often ask when teaching self-esteem classes at the shelter is, "If you had a magic wand that could make any wish come true, what would you change, right now, in your life."

And, no matter the answer, I always ask, "And what's stopping you from doing one thing today to start making that wish come true?"

You don't have to be homeless to know the power of wishes. You don't have to lose everything to know you can have everything you ever dreamed of, wished for, wanted, if you just get clear on your wishes and start taking one step today that will bring you one step closer to your wish coming true.

British novelist, George Eliot, wrote, “It seems to me we can never give up longing and wishing while we are thoroughly alive. There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good, and we must hunger after them."

I hunger for a world where everyone has value. Everyone is treated with dignity and respect. I hunger for a world where poverty ends, addictions never awaken, violence never erupts. I hunger for a world where every child is free to dream, to laugh and dance in the rain, to run through mud puddles and play with wild abandon knowing that food on the table, a stable home and loving parents is not just a fairytale dream, it is the truth for everyone.

I hunger for a world of difference.

And I wish....

I wish I could make it all come true.

And in my wish, I know, wishing has a place, a role, a mission in my life.

Wishing colours in my dreams. It sets my imagination free to dream, to conceive, to create a world of beauty and wonder in everything I do. Wishing keeps me open to possibility. Wishing keeps me thinking bigger than just the street I'm on. It keeps me seeing new avenues opening up, new roads clearing in the distance.

Wishing won't make my dreams come true -- but it will keep me focused on doing whatever it takes to make my dreams come true. It will keep me doing everything I can to make it happen.

I know it is possible my wish may never become reality. It doesn't matter. Because to not wish for 'world peace' is to say, I give up. I give in. I am defeated. There is no hope.

There is always hope as long as we keep doing whatever we can to change the world. There is hope as long as we keep believing -- we can.

I believe there is hope for humankind. I believe.

And while wishing for a wishbone won't make anyone's dreams come true, accepting we have the power to make dreams come true will inspire us to keep moving towards that distant star where we are free to be all we're meant to be, because we are -- FREE!