A Potent Reminder

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The children did not know what to play with first, a neat set of rotary pieces here, an "air chair" there, and a hundred more things scattered around all made for little hands to explore the wonderful world of science. There were creepy, crawly animals in habitats and fat plastic fish that could be plucked from the little man-made stream with fishing poles set up in strategic locations. At the entrance to the Science Museum, a giant T-Rex head was proudly displayed and had the little humans coming back again and again to speculate, "Is it real?", "Can I touch it?", "I want one"! Their enthusiasm for all the museum had to offer was contagious and their joy that I had come to spend the day with them, a surprise they weren't expecting, put me in a euphoric happy bubble I'm still basking in, even though I'm home now and it is ridiculously quiet. I have no doubt I'll still be under their spell well into the evening hours!

Not only do I wholeheartedly believe in magic, I am witness to it almost every day. Sure, one can surmise that life, itself, is magic, i.e. just waking up in the morning is some spiritual enchantment cast by the Universe, but it's deeper than that. Learning to view the world through the eyes of a child opens up so many possibilities to witness the fantastical hidden beneath layers of ordinary. I find it comforting to come to these conclusions today considering the discussion I had with my husband last night. There in the dark, before sleep took me under, we spoke of the sameness, the ordinary found in lengths and stretches of the day. In hushed tones I asked, "Is it a waste of the day to do nothing spectacular, merely move from one routine task to the next? I feel as if there should be something more if I'm to be truly savoring every day of my life." He was quiet for awhile, then he said, "Well, think of it this way...the last several days, besides going to work and doing your normal household things, you've been reading a book. And maybe to some that would seem mundane. Wasted. But to you, especially considering the nature of that book, you find something there you can relate to. You find something in it that speaks to you. Isn't that spectacular, in its own way?" I smiled at him, even though he couldn't see it and snuggled closer. "It's all about perspective," he reminded me. "Now go to sleep," he whispered, kissing the top of my head.

Somewhere in my mind, I hear Aunt Mattie offer up her favorite saying, "Life is what you make it and the world is how you take it." We create the magic, just like we build our own happiness. We are responsible for nurturing loving relationships with others, as well as one with ourselves (which is often not easy to do). If we look at the ordinary and the only thing we see is that at face value, then the magic we've missed is our own fault, because if we dig a little deeper, shift our perspective a bit more off "center" we will see it there, spewing up tiny sparks of light.