The Journal of Wishful Thinking

I am collecting wishful thinking, since that is what I seem to do almost all day, every day. I wish I had more energy. I wish I could sleep for two weeks straight. I wish I felt like riding my bike more. I wish I had sooooo much money, I could quit my job and think great thoughts and go hiking and riding.

Aren't self-absorbed people boring?

Then I got to thinking about what other people would wish for. Maybe the impoverished mother would wish for a stable middle-class home life with time and resources for her children. Maybe a prisoner would wish for kind treatment. Maybe the tortured would wish that it would all stop and the nightmare would go away. Maybe the soldier would wish the war would end. Maybe a father of a missing child would wish his child home safe and sound.

I cannot bear the knowledge of so much suffering, so I stuff it into the recesses of my mind and go back to thinking about global warming ... and Sudoku.

Maybe the politician would wish for more votes and more campaign funds. Maybe the shareholder would wish for greater profits. Maybe companies like Enron would wish for more deregulation and companies like Nike would wish for greater freedom to exploit workers to make shoes cheaply overseas so that Americans can buy really expensive tennies.

Maybe church people would wish other people would straighten up and fly right and that their guy got elected so all those immoral people out there somewhere could be prosecuted. There oughtta be a law!

Maybe the readers of this blog would wish I would just shut up and be quiet and be grateful I am not in Lebanon or Gaza right now. I wish I could stop the war.

I am sorry I am not so interesting tonight.

- Auriel Ragmon