WHY WISH?

Perhaps a trip to Cartegena and Bogota, Colombia is not the wisest use of time while preparing to launch my book, WISHES TO DIE FOR. However, I was dying to take this trip when Mark, a travel agent friend, invited me to accompany him and share his travel perks. Why have wishes to travel if there is no intention to follow through and make good on them? Why have wishes at all? Similar to life’s journey, might wishes be more about the experience than the destination? One purpose of wishful thinking is the wonder of mindless joy. Joy brings amusement and contentment to life, similar to the inherent ecstasy of Disneyland’s Thunder Mountain that quickens the spirit and quiets the mind.

As long as I can remember, I wished to be a doctor. I could list any number of reasons why I became a doctor, but I would be hard pressed to consider this career path leading to mindless joy. Typically, there are crazy moments with heightened vigilance intrinsic to Emergency Medicine. However, I often sense mindless joy while quietly walking through hospital corridors, acknowledging that my spirit has purpose and reward. The purpose of my life becomes magnified as patients‘ eyes light up when I walk into their rooms.  I claimed the reward of mindless joy as restitution for the trials and tribulations of life by unrolling my yoga mat at the Colombian beach of Playa Blanca. Following through on wishes ultimately lifts my spirit.

Wishes potentially overcome fear. In actuality, writing a book about wishes has helped me overcome the fear of speaking candidly. I am living proof that fear and uncertainty are trumped by passion and self-determination; i.e. wishes to die for.  Maintaining a purposeful wish throughout my writing was validated by Mark’s story about how his father died. Ten years ago, the diagnosis of a brain tumor sent shock waves through the entire family as his father lay hospitalized and defenseless. Despite a hopeless prognosis, wishful thinking prompted the family to receive false hope. Nonetheless, after surgery, chemotherapy and the out-of-pocket expense of $126,000, his father died two month later.

Restitution works in opposition to making good on life’s purpose when wishes are simply mindless and lack aspiration for joy. The spirited passion in WISHES TO DIE FOR is to not readily bury a person, but for others to honor and connect the moment of destitution with empowerment. Fulfilling any purpose is an accomplishment, but the reward of mindless joy needs to accompany it. Now that the purpose of writing WISHES TO DIE FOR is complete, what is my reward? “I’m going to Disneyland!” By pursuing more travel opportunities and abiding with others in restitution and mindless joy, I seek to make good on future wishes and accomplishments.