Yearly Wish List Exercise

I went to a group discussion once, about a year ago, and one of the exercises the instructor gave us was to make a wish list of everything we wanted. “It can be anything,” she had said “from a cellphone to world peace to Heaven.”

Pieces of lined paper were passed around. Writing utensils were give; pencils, markers, crayons of all colours and neon jel-pens galore. I was handed a bright pink one – much to my distaste at that time. I mean pink? Such a girl-y colour, and I was anything but that. Oh the teen phases – but that’s whole other topic.

Everyone was pretty reluctant to write anything first, not because they didn’t know what they wanted – who doesn’t? – but probably because they saw it as pointless. Not like writing something down on paper will make it happen, or make it real. Boy, were we wrong.

Finally a few people eased into it, followed by some more, and more until the entire room was dead silent except the sound of scribbling. I being one of those scribblers filled the entire page and then some.

It was the first time I had felt good writing something down for myself. It wasn’t for a class, or a magazine, or anything like that. It was for me and my eyes alone. That’s when one puzzle piece in the jigsaw found its place.

Finally, when the session was done, the instructor told us to keep those lists and look at them in the future to see how many of those things came true.

This ramble, believe it or not, has a point. As much as I’d love to write about my discovery of the written arts there are other lessons I’d rather discuss and I believe everything one does should benefit another – that topic probably wouldn’t.

A year later, around the same time, I happened to find the list. The paper was crumpled. The pink jel-pen had been exposed to water somehow and the smudged some of the words almost unreadable. I read it.

Slowly, one by one I started checking off every wish of mine that had come true. I swear on my life, thought it may be worth nothing to you, that majority of the things I had wanted a year ago I, a year later, now had. What’s more, I had done absolutely nothing to get them. In fact I had forgotten I wanted them.

That blew my mind. WOW. Almost every single wish and I didn’t do a thing.

And that’s when I thought “سبحان الله” Subhanallah (Glorious is God).

I urge anyone and everyone to do the same, whether you believe in God or not. It is really something that will revive your spirits that there is hope and the tree of life doesn’t only bear lemons but sweet fruit too.

I’m writing my list now.