Look up “wish” in any dictionary and you’ll find something like: “a desire or hope for something to happen.” There’s an old saying: “If wishes were horses, we’d all taka a ride.” Indeed, we all wish for various things to happen . . . often “taking a ride” all our lives without lifting a finger toward turning wish-dreams into reality. The source of the following quote is likely spurious, but that doesn’t negate its truth: "The harder I work, the luckier I get." Same goes for wish fulfilments.
Back in the early 90s a British pop duo named Go West recorded a song titled “King of Wishful Thinking.” I am one of them. Here’s a short list . . .
- I wish the deadly, irrational phenomenon of racism would disappear. Completely. I wish the whole world – meaning, everyone in it – would come to realize that there is only one race: the human race. I wish the whole world would affirm the fact (rather than giving lip service to), and act accordingly, that all people are created equal and should be regarded and treated with dignity and common worth.
- I wish no one, not a single person, would have to go to bed hungry because there is no food available. There is enough food on our planet to feed everyone, but wealth inequality and other human obstructions result in massive world hunger. I wish people who daily eat steak and lobster (and such) along with wine at $500/bottle (the cheap stuff) would experience what it’s like to have gnawing hunger pains, and have to scrounge garbage depositories for something to eat.
- I wish greed would become a non-reality. Greed is a selfish and excessive desire for more of something than is needed. Article 25 of the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (to which the U.S. is a signatory) includes the words: everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing, and medical care. I would have no truck with someone living in a 35-room mansion and owning a $500 million toy boat as long as the “everyone” referenced above experiences the rights enumerated in the UDHR.
- I wish people could think and act peaceably toward each other, be it in individual homes or with regard to international relationships. Cooperation born of concern for all humanity – regardless of geography, ethnicity, or religiosity – leads to peace and the betterment of the whole and all of its parts. Competition based on prejudicial self-interest leads to wars . . . in living rooms and on military battlefields. I wish everyone had a burning desire for the well-being of not just MY family or state or political party or country, but for everyone.
This list of four qualifies me as a King of Wishful Thinking. The task at hand is to find ways to “work harder” in order to turn such fanciful thoughts into practical reality.
