Everyone has a wish. Right?

Okay, I am going to assume that is true. What's yours? No, really.

A secret? Well, that's fine. Don't you want someone to listen to it and give you feedback? No, really.

Is it possible that you have achieved that wish and simply didn't realise it? Is it possible that you need a second opinion to re-word your wish and make it more attainable? Is it possible that you might tell me to shut up and go away??

If you don't have a wish, you should. I believe it makes life that little bit more exciting knowing that there is something just out of reach that you would like to attain. That thing that is just out of reach always seems so much sweeter. Of course, some would then say that the grass is always greener etc.

It would be fascinating listening to people relate the one special wish they harbour, the wish that only God and them know about. Of course, we cannot assume that all these wishes are positive; even serial killers have wishes, I'm sure (but can't confirm).

But how do you handle your special wish? Is it completely unattainable in your mind and therefore you just see it as a hazy dream, way over there, out of reach? Sometimes it shimmers in the distance just to annoy you? Sometimes it even vanishes completely? But always too far away?

What is it they say: If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. Maybe we should be grateful that not all wishes come true.

There are even songs about wishes. Wishing On A Star is a smoochy ballad originally by Rose Royce, and contains some lovely lyrics, including wishing on all the rainbows that I see. So what is it about stars and rainbows that make us want to wish on them? Not to mention chicken wishbones! One Wish by Karyn White talks about wishing for love and peace and has a great mid-tempo beat. Whitney Houston has a lovely ballad called One Wish on her Christmas album. Since it's a Christmas song the lyrics are predictably inane, but we do want love, joy, and peace, don't we? Not a particular favourite is Wishing Well by Terence Trent D'Arby. The lyrics are totally confusing, ranging from kissing and telling to monkey see, monkey do, and there are even butterflies and crocodiles! But it's a nice song!

As I grow up (finally) I find that my wishes have become more boring, but far more intense to me. I wish my parents were alive. I wish I could find the love and the peace of the Lord in my heart, always. This seems a far cry from the days when I wished for a Case 5 football from the DG Hathiramani sports shop in Accra Central. And as I grew older, wishes for women. Seriously. Any woman. Seriously. Along the way, there was a wish to be a fantabulous sportsman, particularly football and track.

I wish I could experience a love which I have experienced before. If I could find that love I would patent it, bottle it, sell it for a tiny profit, and we would all live happily ever after. And I might be slightly rich.

Be careful what you wish for. A very wise saying indeed. Why? Because we are so limited in what we can imagine, every wish we have is limited by that scope of vision. And therefore every wish probably has us at the centre, and simply does not take into account how others may be affected by that wish. I suppose if we could imagine the net effect of every wish....that would make us God.

So, I guess there are all sorts of wishes being thrown out there every day, from the mundane to the exotic to the where-did-that-come-from? But I still like the idea of sharing our wishes, if for nothing else so we can appreciate what we have that others are dying for. If you've ever heard someone say, "I wish I had a child" you might appreciate your baby more. If you ever heard someone say, "I wish I had my legs back" you might appreciate that the distance you just walked is not so far. If you ever heard someone say, "I wish I was married" you might appreciate that fat slob snoring (and drooling) in your bed every night. If you ever heard a stammerer say that they would like to put a whole sentence together, you might appreciate a spouse who never shuts up.

Children wishing? They must be the most innocent I suppose. Stuff like, "I wish she would die", as they are beaten by a loving mother. And, "I wish he would just get hit by a truck", as a father says you cannot go out....for no reason.

Why do we end letters, visits, messages, etc. with best wishes? It sometimes seems to be a very vague and almost half sarcastic way of ending something. It's almost like we don't know what to say.

And so I wish you all the best! (Just accept it.)

And I wish I had more money!