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The Importance of Wishing

Posted on April 6, 2015 by Miranda • 320 Comments

-written by Hearth Founder, Miranda Aisling

There are three things that I wish on whenever I notice them:

1.) The clock at 11:11

2.) A clementine peeled in one peel.

3.) A fallen eyelash

Although, I am generally not a superstitious person, I’ve wished on each of these three things for as long as I can remember. Like all superstitions, they have specific rules, (i.e. if you set an alarm for 11:11 it doesn’t count or if you look at the clock at 11:10 you’ll almost always miss 11:11)

My favorite explanation of Wishing Rules was captured by a friend at summer camp in a personal essay about wishing on eyelashes.  She took these superstitions to the next level, saying that as a child she believed that if you make a wish on an eyelash you can tell how easily the wish will come true by how easily it gets blown away.  If the eyelash gets stuck on your finger, it means the wish won’t come true at all.  And we all know the most important Wishing Rule: if you tell someone what you wished for it won’t come true.

Despite following these rules for most of my life, I must admit that there has been little correlation between what I wish for and what actually happens.  Which then begs the question, why do it?

First, because it’s fun.  I am a strong proponent of enjoying small pleasures, including the small spark of childish glee I still get whenever I make a wish.

But the real reason is so that I know at any given moment what I am wishing for.  When you make a wish, you have to make a choice.  I’ve found that this choice gives clarity to what is currently happening in my life. Sometimes all I’m wishing for is a small task that to be completed.  Sometimes my wishes are deeper and need to be discussed with a close friend over a bottle of wine.  But on my best days, I look at the clock or peel a clementine and realize that I’m wishing for nothing at all.

Filed Under: Blog, Miranda Writes

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