I Believe In Art By Victoria Lynn Hall: 30 Days of Holiday Cards

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

30 Days of Holiday Cards - Day 14: Holiday Wishes

Wish - Holiday Mermaid Greeting Card card

Wish - Holiday Mermaid Greeting Card by Victoreeah
Make your own card at Zazzle

Today I am featuring my Holiday Wish Mermaid Card. On the front of it is a whimsical mermaid along with the word "Wish". Inside it reads: "May All Your Holiday Wishes Come True"(or personalize with your own message).

We have all heard that expression, "Be careful what you wish for," and I think that is wise to a certain extent. Most certainly if you have just let a Genie out of a bottle, you need to spend your wishes wisely, because I hear those guys can be real tricky. However, I also think wishing is a great exercise in imagination and a way to figure out the answer to one of life's most important questions: What do I really want?

For example, the way I made my Christmas wish list every year when I was a kid was I would go through the Sears catalog several times. On the first pass I would put a star next to everything I liked - expensive jewelry, clothes and shoes that were for adults, riding lawnmowers - I put absolutely no limit or restrictions on myself. On the second pass, I had more realistic criteria, putting a check mark next to the stars on things I thought there was even the slightest chance my parents might actually buy me. Finally I would circle the three to five things I wanted most. I didn't expect to get everything I circled but I wanted to leave my possibilities open and be surprised by what my parents actually got me. Some years there were things I circled that I was pretty sure I wouldn't get, like the stereo I really, really wanted when I was twelve, but I did in fact get it, one of the best Christmases ever!

As you can see, wishing for me back then was serious business and it still is. Especially now, when it seems I have to work a lot harder to make my wishes come true, I am indeed "careful what I wish for". And yet that doesn't mean I'm careful not to wish too often, too big or too bold. It just means that I know that the wishes that I am able to make with all my heart and soul are the ones most likely to come true.