Ancient Chinese Chamber of Wishes

Children and adults alike become silent for a moment, as they dig deep to the innermost reaches of their minds uncovering their most honest desires. They close their eyes, formulate the perfect wish, then faithfully toss a coin or two into a wishing well or fountain hoping for their wishes to come true.  It's a worldwide ritual that's been around for hundreds of years. But few people realize the origins of this tradition.

In ancient China, wishes were believed to come true when written on a scroll and meticulously stored in a special ceramic chamber. The precious chambers, blessed by invoking the memory of Cai Shen (the Chinese Taoist god of prosperity), were thought to have mystical powers. With the chambers closed, wishes could circulate freely with no interference in reality so they could more easily manifest.

Tradition aside, just imagine the utility of such a gift. Oh, the opportunities for a sneaky spouse or parent to casually peek into the Chamber to help decide what birthday, anniversary, holiday or Christmas presents would be truly treasured by their loved ones...

True story. Bill, a very close friend of the family, was diagnosed with cancer of the bladder. After several nauseating chemotherapy treatments failed, his oncologist recommended he have his bladder removed. It was a risky surgery in itself; and Bill was 70 years young, which would make his recovery a lengthy and tedious chore. The weekend before Bill's surgery, we gave Bill a wishing pot. Just before we wrapped it, we scribbled the following wish on a small piece of paper, and placed it in the pot:

We wish Bill's surgery will go perfectly, he will recover quickly, and be cancer-free.

Bill's surgery began at about 7 AM on Monday morning. We were all sitting on pins and needles, hoping and praying everything would go well. Another member of our family had a similar surgery a year ago, and had complications during his surgery which led to a very long recovery period, so we were very concerned. At about 2 PM that same day, our cell phone rang. It was Bill! His daughter snapped a picture of Bill sitting up in his bed, looking amazingly wonderful considering what he had just been through. The surgery went flawlessly.

A week later, we went to visit Bill. As he stood in his driveway (which was amazing that he was standing at all), we all remarked how good he looked! He said he felt very little pain and discomfort, and was looking forward to getting his staples removed and back to his normal routine.

Was the Ancient Chinese Chamber of Wishes the reason for his successful procedure and recovery? It may well have been. If anything, it sure didn't hurt to give him some hope.