be careful what you wish for...

Wishes, dreams, hopes, aspirations....real or imagined...possible or impossible... To write about dreams and wishes that we harbour seems simple....but is it? There is something so intangible about our inner most desires that it almost seems bad luck or a strike against fate to think them out loud. Those vague, semi-consious and most delicious thoughts that we cherish within are most often our own little secrets...safe places that we allow ourselves the luxury of retreating to from time to time...

I have always been a dreamer...at least looking back I think that was the case....As a small child I had a pretty active imagination and as a teenager I seem to recall many periods of self reflection, long gazing and interminable questions. Maybe that is a symptom of adolescence, but as it turns out in my case, maybe not.... 'Be careful what you wish for'...my mother would say to me...It was as if she could predict my future...I guess she knew me better than I knew myself and she certainly didn't need a glass ball to sense my wanderlust....I longed to travel...and for a girl from Sydney, the rest of the world seemed such an exotic place....I could not begin to imagine the excitement of cities like London, Paris and New York...yet deep down I knew that one day I wanted those destinations to be a part of my vocabulary. Books, movies and TV programs were my references for the far away - the geographical locations and the characters fuelled my fascination for the unknown. Australia was down under... isolated from the rest of the world... that is both the privilege and the beauty... but to travel was the exception not the rule and 'overseas' was not the hop, skip and a jump it is today.

I wanted to see skyscrapers with my own eyes, walk down the Champs Élysées like a Parisian girl and play in the snow...Can you imagine not knowing the sensation of snow on your upturned palms? I saw myself wearing overcoats and fur lined boots not sun hats and flip flops...I couldn't wait to visit the Tower of London, ride on a double decker red bus and have my photograph taken at Madame Tussauds. A gondola ride in a city that has waterways for streets was beyond my wildest dreams and the thought of a real Roman Colosseum was almost too much. My mouth watered for garlic, tomato flavoured spaghetti not barbecued chops and sausages...I had visions of the pyramids of Giza and the Great Wall of China... of riding camels and photographing tigers...of glaciers and polar bears... I wished, I crossed my fingers and I prayed for Pegasus to sweep me up and whisk me away...

My mother was right....the wanderlust won out...and I have enjoyed a life of great adventure and travel...many of those places that I dreamt of, that I envisaged with the dreaminess of adolescence are now so familiar to me that I almost know them better than my own home town.

What do I wish for now? What do I dream about in the quiet moments....I am almost too afraid to write these thoughts down in case the clarity of the words might tempt my fate...but the truth is most of the time I wish for the simple....for health, for happiness, for laughter...like all of us...and I wish for romance, for love and for friendship. Yet sometimes my mind remembers and runs with the speed of  my youth and I fantasise about the far flung, the extraordinary... About yoga in the Himalayas and finding than zen moment... about travelling to Norway to go dog sledding under the northern lights... about a safari in Namibia along the Skeleton Coast or a hike in Patagonia...and from time to time I can't help but make believe that these adventures are mapped out in my future...

Do I still have that crazy wanderlust?... Me....Yes, just a little......xv

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image of our first snowfall in france - david archer

For the wishes and dreams of other talented bloggers contributing to By Invitation Only...

MARSHA HARRIS

http:www.splenderosa.blogspot.com/

TISH JETT

http://afemmeduncertainage.blogspot.com/

YVONNE PRATT

http://stonegable.blogspot.com/

CHARLOTTA WARD

http://spaceforinspiration.blogspot.com/

GREET LEFEVRE

http://belgianpearls.blogspot.com/

CATHERINE ROBINSON

http://www.catherinerobinsoncashmere.com/

ANNIE BOUTERSE

http://plumsiena.blogspot.com/

COTY FARQUHAR

http://cotyfarquhar.blogspot.com/

DEBORAH PETERSON

http://www.dumbwittellher.com/

DUSTJACKET ATTIC

http://dustjacketattic.blogspot.com/

SHARI MILLER

http://www.littlebluedeer.com/

TINA

http://theenchantedhome.blogspot.com/

MONA THOMPSON

http://providenceltddesign.com/

FIFI FLOWERS

http://www.fififlowers.com/

JACQUELINE MUMFORD

http://home-biba.blogspot.com/

KARIN JANSKY

http://lapouyette-unddiedingedeslebens.blogspot.com

CECILIA GONZALEZ

http://desdemventana.blogspot.com/

RENEE GRANIER & ANGELA FOSTER

http://underspanishmoss.com/

JANELL

http://houseoffiftyblog.blogspot.com/

LISA

http://amidprivilege.com

CHRISTINA FLUEGGE

http://greigedesign.blogspot.com/

SANDE CHASE
http://agiftwrappedlife.blogspot.com


ISA CHANDLER
http://isaslittleworld.blogspot.com/

FRANCINE GARDNER
http://fg-artdevivre.blogspot.com