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This post is inspired by a blog post by Bree Ervin. I found the post when I tried to find a good sentence to be used as the response for birthday wishes that given to me.

Actually, content-wise, it's good to post this on my birthday, but, nope. I don't post any birthday-related article on my birthday :)

At first, I thought of posting a modified version of her post. On a second thought, I think I'm just gonna copy her article in its entirety and give comments inline, in blue.

So, here it is:

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Chances are good that it’s not actually your birthday today. But that’s okay, because it’s mine and as such, I get to make a wish.

Hey, I read this on my birthday! Spot on!

I’ve already got everything I want. [me? umm, can't really say about this. I'm grateful (I hope so), but there are still many things that I want to get or see, for me or for other people]

I’m in a profession I love, with clients I adore. [checked]

I’ve got an amazing family that supports me through all my craziness. [super checked]

I’ve got great friends who love me for me. [checked checked]

I’ve got a roof over my head, and it doesn’t even leak. My refrigerator is full. Life is good. [checked checked checked. I'm in a happy place right now. Alhamdulillah]


So, I figure, I’ve got this wish lingering, begging me to use it, and… I don’t need anything. [see my response above]. Then I remembered, it’s my wish, but that doesn’t mean I have to use it on me. [hey, I agree]

Remember all those cheesy times you could make a wish – on the first star, at 11:11, on dandelion puffs, and eyelashes? [errrr, I didn't and don't do those things anyway :p]

Well, when I was about 9 or 10 and woke up to the fact that I was a spoiled white girl, [definitely I'm not a white girl] I started using those wishes a little differently. I stopped wishing for more cheap plastic crap or ice cream or candy and I started closing my eyes and wishing with all the passion in me “for something good to happen.”

I would send the wish out to the world. If I’d heard of something sad happening somewhere, I’d send my wish to the people in that place. If I knew a friend was going through a rough time, I’d send the wish to them. [I think for a 10 years old girl doing those prayers, it's pretty mature and kind]

Sometimes I was the one in a rough patch and I would allow myself to soak up the wish. [indeed. Although now I'm in a happy place, but it's a circle of life. It's a wheel of fortune. (Hey, it's like lyric of a song :p.) I know it could get rough some time. But I just need to trust Allah.]

It was vague, it was open, it didn’t seem too demanding. I didn’t need anything specific, Barbies and My Little Ponies weren’t the cure – the world just needed more good things.
The funny thing is – my wish always came true. [okay, it doesn't happen to me of course, haha. Sometimes it comes true, sometime it doesn't]
Because, good things happen. A lot. [can't agree more]

So, today I am going to use my super power, my wish, and direct it at you. Yes, you. [I would like to change 'you' to anyone who needs the wish out there. But the word selection of 'you' pretty much gives a special effect to the readers. Wait, now I know why I love her post. Since I planned to do this kind of post for quite some time, and she executed that in a very excellent way)

I wish for something good to happen for you.
I wish for you to have the courage to ask for what you want.
I wish for you to have the wisdom to accept help when it is offered.
I wish for you to have strength and tenacity to keep reaching for your dreams, even when the odds seem stacked against you.
I wish for you to find happiness and to take pleasure in the fleeting moments, realizing that they are like pennies – when you add them up, they create a wonderful life.

I wish for you to have a day – one whole day – that you can devote just to yourself and your pleasure.
Today, I’m taking mine. I’m cranking my tunes and I’m spending the day in the kitchen cooking. I’m making new foods and revisiting old favorites. And when it’s all prepared, I’m sharing it with a small handful of people I love. [I don't know. I'm still feel a bit guilty everytime I do the self-indulgence thingies. haha. Ok, but definitely I don't cook. But hey, I do share small handful of food to my family, friends, and work-mates :). Ohya, my mom (May Allah bless her) also extends by sharing food to the unfortunate ones]

Today I am all smiles and no stress. [Can't say so. I was trapped in a traffic jam on my birthday, but then again, it's expected since I'm a Jakartan]

Good things are coming your way. I wish that you too can find a day, one day out of a year of days, to take yourself out of the race and just… simmer.
I wish… I wish for good things to happen.

[I'd like to extend the wishes to the people in Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Nigeria. Every time I remember a video of a Syrian kid eating grass because of food supply deficiency, it always breaks my heart. Hundreds thousands of people experience the similar thing. I hope God gives them strength to overcome it all, the root cause of the problems could be fixed really soon. Same wishes to the less fortunate people in Indonesia]

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What I like about her wishes is that it's not always about material things, but also more on the intangible things, like courage, motivation, compassion -- which I think that many people tend to overlook that.