The Wish

I was talking with my friend and noticed his glum look. I tried to cheer him up, but no matter how hard I tried, nothing seemed to work. So, in a final attempt to pick him up out of his depressive state, I told him, " If I had one wish, I would give it to you."

This piqued his interest, especially when I asked what he might do with his wish.

He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, so I ran through a few things he might consider.

I offered, "Happiness?"

To which he replied, "No."

"Money?

"No."

"Lots of really good friends?"

"No."

"World peace?"

"A cure for cancer?"

But he still wasn't buying.

After running through a few lesser wishes, and in complete desperation, I then told him how good I would have felt if I had given him my one wish. I suggested he might like to give his wish away and what a beautiful thing that would be. Finally, he smiled and nodded in agreement.

***

I began thinking about how cool it would be if the person he gave his wish to also gave it away... and so on until one wish brought happiness to every person on planet Earth. It occurred to me that my one wish would eventually arrive back where it began, and if I chose, repeat its journey all over again...one wish bringing endless happiness to the world.

As I stared into the distance pondering this thought, my friend decided to change his mind about giving away his wish. I didn't bother asking him any more questions, said my farewell and left.

I must admit after this, I felt a bit down. As if anyone would give away a wish, especially if they had only one to give. Then, as I fought against the sadness I had contracted from my friend, it occurred to me I wouldn't have had a clue what to wish for anyway. But I'm sure that if I did, it wouldn't have brought as much happiness as if I had just given it away.