My 2026 homework assignment
Picture this – it’s a sunny January afternoon and I’m sitting on the gentle grassy slope in my backyard with my dog, Grayson.
In my hand is a small, folded slip of paper, and on that paper, is a handwritten wish. Not just any wish, but one of 13 wishes I wrote for myself at the end of 2025.
I’d been quietly burning one wish per night for the past 12 nights – selecting one folded slip of paper at random, and lighting it unseen with a request to the Universe to tend to it over the coming year.
And now, it all came down to this moment. Unlike the other wishes, this final wish – the 13th – was mine. My responsibility – my opportunity – to bring to life this year.
As I sit on the hill, my stomach feels a little queasy; the anticipation of reading what’s written on that small slip is so electric that I’m actually shaking a little bit.
The funny part is that I am almost certain I know which wish is written on the piece of paper. I actually feel a little smug at this thought, like I’m going to outsmart the Universe and do its job for it.
(yes, really)
Which means that when I finally summon the courage to unfold the paper, I am IN SHOCK at what I read.
So much shock, in fact, that I start hysterically laughing. Laughing so loud and so long that the dog gets the zoomies and I’m sure the neighbors can hear my howls.
Because the slip of paper that I hold in my hand? It’s for a wish I don’t even remember writing.
It’s not about money or achievement or my body (my typical trifecta of new years goals).
It’s not about doing or accomplishing or taking action.
It’s the opposite.
It’s about stillness.
Try This Out
I’m going to be honest: receiving this as my 13th wish this year felt like the Universe’s cosmic joke.
Like, let’s give Ashley the world’s longest to-do list, and then tell her she needs to be STILL.
But as I’ve sat with the concept of stillness – what it means to me, what it looks like, and importantly what it feels like – I can now see exactly why this is the wish that I’ve been assigned this year.
BECAUSE IT’S THE LAST THING I WANT TO DO!
Which brings me to my question for you this week:
What is the thing you know, deep down, you need – to feel good and grounded and like the most aligned version of yourself – but that you’ve been avoiding?
Is it sleep? Moving your body? Learning? Finding community? Stillness?
I wrote that wish because deep down, I know I need quiet. I need space and time to myself. I need to take my earbuds out and breathe the fresh air in.
And still – I avoid it.
Why? Because it’s hard. Because it forces me to pay attention to my thoughts. To trade my busyness for presence. To honor my boundaries around the news and social media and my phone.
What do your body, heart, mind and spirit know you need? What small step will you take to give it to yourself today?
What To Do Next
If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen that I’ve started walking every day to my neighborhood’s lake. I’ve always loved walking, and the lake is very soothing – but I’d never made a commitment to getting there regularly.
As of today, I’m 2 weeks into a daily streak of walking to the lake and sitting there. Sometimes it’s for 5 minutes, sometimes it’s for 30. I take out my Airpods, I sit down on the dock with Grayson, and I breathe. It’s quiet, it’s serene, it’s still.
And it’s exactly what I need.
If stillness is on your mind, I recently listened to this great book (it’s probably where I got the idea for my 13th wish!).
Did you do a 13 Wishes practice this year? If so, I’d love to hear what the Universe assigned you for 2026, too!
Onward,
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