The Wishing Steps
Moving on from the comedy show (although I'm sure I'll keep referencing it because it was fantastic), but sticking with my Ireland trip, let's talk about the Blarney Estate. Blarney Castle is located in Cork, Ireland, and is probably most famous for the Blarney Stone. The stone is located at the top of the castle and is said to grant whoever kisses it the gift of eloquence. As someone whose dream is to speak in front of audiences, it was a must.
Kissing the stone used to be incredibly dangerous. You have to lean backward off the castle wall and slide down until you can reach it before kissing it. It's safer now because they've added bars to catch people before they fall to the ground, but it still feels like a leap of faith. I grabbed the handles and slid my way down to the point where my butt was barely on the slanted platform, quickly kissed the stone, and got back up as quickly as I could. I was shaking the rest of the way, climbing down the castle stairs because of the adrenaline and fear of that experience.
I certainly think it was worth it. I have the pictures to cherish and the belief that there is magic in that stone to help my dream come true. And it helps that I didn't realize how scary it would be until I was in way too deep. My husband did not kiss the stone since it just felt gross to him. The combination of germs and fear was enough to keep him from doing it. But, for those wondering, they do wipe it off with a Clorox wipe in between, so it's got to be safe, right?
After kissing the stone and exploring the poison garden, we stopped for lunch. At the cafe on the grounds, I saw a sign for wishing steps, so I wanted to see those after. It took some time to navigate the forest, but we found the steps. The sign reads, "For hundreds of years, the Blarney Witch has taken firewood from our Estate for her kitchen. In return, she must grant our visitor's wishes. If you walk down and back up these steps with your eyes closed—some suggest walking backward—and without for one moment thinking of anything other than a wish, then that wish will come true within a year. We only say that the steps can be slippery and that we take no responsibility…"
So I walked the steps with my eyes closed twice. I didn't do it backward since there was no evidence that that helped, and I forgot to leave some money for the witch, which I would definitely do if I went back, but I think my wish will come true. I was able to clear my mind and think of nothing other than my wish. I walked carefully and confidently up and down the stairs. And when we explored beyond the stairs, I made sure to do the same down and back up again.
I think my wish will come true in a year. That would be pretty incredible, right? Maybe it's all superstition. Perhaps it is real magic. But here's the thing: if that wish is coming true in a year, then I need to get myself ready. If that wish fell in my lap tomorrow, I would not be prepared to handle it.
I need a certain level of confidence, knowledge, and skill to handle that dream. And I need even more of all those things to successfully carry my dream to its full potential. So I've got a year to get ready because I believe my dream will come true. Making a wish like this means that I need to get my butt in gear. I've got work to do.
And here's the thing: maybe it won't come true in a year. But if I put in all the work to get ready, I'll be so much closer to it happening. Now, like my husband, you may say that if I do all this work, then it wasn't the wishing steps that worked; it was me. That may be true, but I also know a decent amount of luck plays into a dream coming true at the right time, so maybe the witch does have her hands in.
We talked the other day about how we are one thing away from a dream come true. I really am just one connection away, but I have to be ready when that contact comes; otherwise, they will pass me by. My dream, the witch, God, the universe, or whatever you believe in, is setting spaces up for us to walk into. But we must be ready to see them and equally ready to walk through and accept them.
So I'm here to tell you to make every wish. When 11:11 rolls around, an eyelash falls, or you come across a dandelion, make a wish. Follow every superstition. Fly to Ireland and walk up and down those wishing steps with your eyes closed. Do whatever it takes to make your dream come true. And then get your butt in gear because once you put something like that out into the universe, you need to be ready to receive it. Like throwing a boomerang out, we know it's coming back to us, and we have to be prepared to catch it when it comes back over the horizon. I'm getting ready, are you?