- Alicia Assad
My Wish For You
I once wrote to heal. Now I write, because I think my words might help someone else.

Last night, I blew out candles on a cake surrounded by friends and family.
I am another year older.
I am another year wiser.....
More than anything else, I am extraordinarily blessed.
I realized how abundant my life is yesterday, as I thought about what my birthday wish was going to be.
No, I typically don't analyze my wishes, but in the morning, my four-year-old, Henry, asked,
"Mamma, you get to make a wish today! Do you know what you are going to wish for!?"
I suppose I've never really thought hard about a birthday wish until I'm actually blowing out the candles.
But since I had a few hours to think this one through yesterday, I thought a bit harder about what I wanted that wish to be.
I began by thinking about the moments I have blown out candles every year, and what my wishes were. While I don't remember them all specifically, I do know I always wished for more.
I wished for something I didn't have.
I wished something would go better.
I wished my heart would heal from something.
Listen, there were times in my life where I really needed things to be better than they were.
But this year, I simply couldn't wish for more of anything, at least for ME.
I mean, I technically could have -- my life is far from perfect, so there are many things I could have wished for (or to go away).
I just felt that making another wish for ME was selfish, because the joy I experience every day far outweighs any of my stressors.
There is not a single thing I "need" beyond what I already have.
That's why last night, the wish I made is about giving back.
I want you, and anyone else who cares to read my work, to find yourself in this same place of overwhelming abundance.
I actually, already put that wish into motion, because yesterday morning, I sent my very first book off for editing.
I always assumed I would need all that to make my "dream" of publishing "a book" one day come to fruition.
But this past year, I realized....I don't need any of this.
One day I woke up realizing I just need the wisdom I have gained, and the courage I need to share it.
That courage, I realize, has grown since I've been writing from a place of gratitude and altruism.
I once wrote to heal.
Now I write, because I think my words might help someone else.
In a few weeks, I'll publish my first eBook, and I'm going to give it away here on my website, for FREE.
I believe we all can be strong enough not only to survive but to thrive in life and motherhood.
My birthday wish this year is that I might inspire you to realize that you are yet to discover the depth of your strength.
You can survive, and you can thrive.
With love and gratitude,
