Fumbling Wishes

 

 

 

How does one balance out desire and reality to cobble a life that feels right? Or maybe there is no real right, and we’re all just fumbling around looking for greener pastures that don’t exist. — Wishing for Greener Grass

 

I have sent up a lot of wishes in my lifetime.  I have blown out candles, wished on falling and first stars, pulled wish bones, prayed on rainbows, snorted up dandelion fluff, spoken wishes to the moon, thrown coins into fountains, you name it, I have wished on it.

I think one of the reasons we pray, or make wishes, is that we need motivation, and those wishes are the things that define who we are an what we want from people, places, things, and Self. 

Candles’ glow was first used by those following the Goddess Artemis who is shown hunting by the moon.  As well, the smoke from the candles were thought to send prayers up to the gods (sound familiar?)  The Germans used to use candles on the cake and put the number of candles per the age, plus one, for the year coming up.  The candles represented the light of life.

The Greco Egyptians believed that shooting strs were the gods watching over the people.  It was believed they listened   

Wishing on chicken wishbones comes from the ancient Italians who believed chickens had special divination powers so, when sacrificed, the wishbone was kept and was thought to give the owner of the wishbone special divination powers.  It was interesting to read why they snapped the wishbone.  There were so many wishers that the romans eventually came to believe if you had half a wishbone, at least half your wish would come true. 

 Dandelion fluff became wishes for children at some point, in the 1800w, as far as is known, The fluff was thought to go out into the world and send our wishes with them.

Wishing wells were European as water was a basic need and so precious for many.  The wells were fiercely protected and often small idols were set nearby.  This led to the people going to send off wishes or prayers to the gods because it was thought gods watched over the waters there. 

If we look at things we wished/wish for, we will see what we thought we needed at that time.  Sometimes, wishes were followed through with the decisions to make them happen so we would do the work necessary, in the first place, for fulfilling those wishes.  When we think of wishes in this way, we can see that, if we followed through, we would activate our own powers to make what we need become reality, or almost reality, in some cases. 

Any desire or longing we have/had and have sent out as a wish or a prayer, shows what is important to us and we are wanting something outside ourselves to have it come true.  That is the flaw in wishes.  Our yearnings must always be met by the work we out in to make it cone true.  We are not powerless.  Our action/decisions/walking the walk is what makes our longings come to fruition, as well, what about wishes that don’t come true?  Well, we then say things like, “all in its own time”, “maybe it was not meant for you” …  but the reality is, if our wishes are based on reality goal selections, then they can come true because we will put in the work needed.  If our wishes are grandiose or not meant for us, then, perhaps that is why they do not come true.  As well, “Do no harm” by wishing something against another, place, or thing. 

©Carol Desjarlais 15.12.20