Secret Wish Jar

I first read about Wish Jars in “Living Out Loud: Activities to Fuel a Creative Life,” by Keri Smith:

“A Wish Jar is a powerful receptacle for all the dreams and wishes in your life, especially those that you think are impossible. There is an unseen power that starts to work when you put your innermost desires on paper. See for yourself, but be prepared - you will get what you ask for.”

 

I believe that when you focus on a wish (either by writing it down or finding an image that symbolises your dream to you) there  is an energy that will help you make it come true. I’ve been filling journals with my dreams and wishes since I was about 7 years old. One of the dreams I wrote most about as a teenager was traveling, seeing the world and exploring different cultures. Since then I’ve lived in Finland and Germany, traveled through India, Thailand and Malaysia for a year and found a job in Ireland.

Good things rarely happen without us wishing for them first.  Writing your wish down in your journal, dropping a penny in a wishing well, making a dream board or a Wish Jar, they all come down to the same thing: focusing on your wish. It’s when you consciously express your wish at its strongest. That’s when God, the Universe, Kosmos or whatever name you choose to call it starts doing everything in its power to make your wish come true. I love the idea of a pretty jar to honour my dreams and wishes in. To put it in a place where I see it every day and cherish them.

 

Want your own Wish Jar? They’re very easy to make and the best part about it is that there’s no wrong way of doing it!  Go ahead. All you need is an empty jar and decorations you like. You can use glass paint, contour paint, paper, fabric, beads, string, shells, stones or anything you want! Paint it in the colours of the rainbow or cover it with pictures of things you dream of. It’s your jar, so decorate it in whatever way feels good to you! Scroll down to get some ideas and get your creativity flowing…

 

Colours have different meanings. I chose to use red glass paint, because red is an active, passionate colour, infusing my wishes with active, passionate energy. The internet is a great source for information on colours and the characteristics associated with them.

Personally I like to add symbols to my Wish Jars, as I think they radiate a powerful energy. For example the string of green beads that I tied around the neck of the Wish Jar I made for my friend Marianne symbolises the seeds her dreams are when putting them in the jar and the leaf at the end symbolises the blossoming of her wishes. There are many books and websites about symbols and symbolism that will get you started.

Don’t forget the lid of the jar and decorate it as well. You can make a slit  in it (with a hammer and a screwdriver for example)  to put the papers with your wishes on them in the jar or you can just leave it whole and screw it off every time you have new dreams. I used a nail to punch holes in mine to allow my wishes to ‘breathe’, so to speak.

 

Take the time you need to create your Wish Jar (or your Dream Jar, it’s up to you how you want to call it), you can do it in an afternoon or it can take you several days, like me. When you’ve finished decorating it, write your wishes down. Big dreams and small dreams. Think of things that might make your life more fun, spectacular or fullfilling. Nothing is too big and nothing is too small and you can never have too many, so write them all down! The perfect pair of jeans, new people in your life, a car, a more fulfilling job, a place of your own, learning how to ski: put all your wishes in the jar and watch them come true.

If you’d rather use a box to store your wishes in instead of a jar? Go ahead, the principle is the same. All you need is a box and the decorations to make your perfect Wish Box or Dream Box to cherish your dreams in.

I would love to see your Wish Jars and Dream Boxes and display them in the Wish Jar Gallery, as a tribute to all our dreams and wishes and those who nourish them and an inspiration to others to cherish theirs as well. You can leave a comment with a link to your post about your Wish Jar or send me a picture (or more) and I’ll post them here, whatever you prefer.