The Wish / shiW ehT

When we wish for something, we are asking for a wish as if we were blind. The moment we get to ask for a wish, we don't think of the effects it will bring, well, we only think of the good side of the wish. Asking for a wish, that will be surely granted is a once in a lifetime opportunity, therefore we make sure to ask for a perfect wish. Just like Midas did, he asked a perfect wish, to have unlimited amounts of gold, no better wish could exist. But, there will be a moment when the gold will turn gray and won't be as fantastic, the bad effects start to appear.

We usually think that the wish we just asked for is the best of all, we enjoy, we take advantage of it, we live a perfect moment. But the sunlight dies, the shining gold becomes stone, and the perfect wish isn't indeed so perfect. "Then he found to his dismay that whether he touched bread, it hardened in his hand; or put a morsel to his lips, it defied his teeth. He took a glass of wine, but it flowed down his throat like melted gold" (Bulfinch, Myth VI A). The gold became a nightmare to Midas. This myth of the Golden Touch can represent humanity's selfishness and mentality of being superior. Symbolizes the way us humans want to take advantage of the gods, and our perception of thinking that the gods are stupid. Well, Midas tried to take advantage of Bacchus by asking for a luxurious wish, but ended loosing. "Bacchus consented, though sorry that he had not made a better choice. Midas went his way, rejoicing in his new-acquired power, which he hastened to put to the test" (Bulfinch, Myth VI A). Here we can see both sides of the coin; Midas rejoicing to his new power, and Bacchus disappointed after hearing the wish Midas had asked for.

This myth reminds me of two other similar stories; a movie entitled Big, and a TV Series I watched when I was younger, entitled The Fairy Godparents. In Big, Josh Baskin finds himself humiliated after trying to impress an older teenage girl. He tried to enter to a rollercoaster with her, but, because of his short length, Josh is prohibited to enter. Then he goes to a fortune telling machine and wishes to be BIG. After living a few days as an adult he finds his wish fantastic, he can enter the rollercoaster, just perfect. Then, as weeks pass, he realizes it isn't so fantastic because he has to pay his own apartment, find a job, etc... Therefore, he goes back to the machine and wishes to be a teenager again. Here we can observe a similar effect on the wish, first being fantastic, then being not so fantastic. The same effect happens to happen in The Fairy God Parents, here Timmy Turner has the gift of having fairy god parents who concede him every wish he desires. In every episode is always the same story, Timmy enjoys the wish and says it is the best wish he has ever wished for, but then he realizes the negative effects and decides to bring things how they used to be, without the wish.

A wish is a hope or desire for something. Normally, we wish for desires that aren't surely granted. In Midas's case, he knows his wish will be granted, so he asks for the best wish in the world. But the wish turns to be not so great as he lives with it. That's why today we live outside the supernatural world of wishes, curses etc... Today we might believe in the custom of "making a wish" by throwing a coin in a pond, seeing a shooting star, or blowing the birthday candles, but, will these wishes ever come true? Is our life a repeated track of Midas's myth? Is the positive side of the wish worth the bad part? Desire something, wish something. Look at both sides of the moon before taking a walk there.