TammieWhen I was a child I could call upon the experience of magic day and night. My life was filled with a myriad of adventures that involved being the Queen of the fairies in the mangrove swamp behind the caravan park I lived in, to being able to hold my breath under the water longer than anyone else in the swimming pool. Everything was magical, even the moth flying around the lightbulb, (until it got zapped by the mozzie zapper anyway), remember making daisy chains?
Even until my early 20’s I think I could retain this sense of magic in life. It changed focus somewhat to a more adolescent brooding. In my late teens I was quite melancholy at times and loved walking graveyards and looking out over grey seas in the rain, I may have looked unhappy but I wasn’t I was just contemplating life and all its mystery and magic and of course trying to find my path.
Find my path I did and it has been a winding, hilly road like most peoples with a few steep learning curves, but mostly without any major collisions or too many injuries. In fact, most people would say that I live a very blessed and fulfilling life, and I do, however this is not the same as living with magic.
So what is magic? “Something that is wonderful. A quality of being beautiful and delightful in a way that seems remote from daily life.”
synonyms: fascinating, captivating, charming, glamorous, magical, enchanting, entrancing, spellbinding, magnetic, irresistible, hypnotic.
Magic is unique, it is not the same as happiness, excitement or contentment. Take a moment to say out loud to yourself, “That was magical!” and feel what happens deep in the belly and to your breath? Do the corners of your lips turn upwards slightly? Do your eyes become larger? There is something very cheeky about magic and if I am anything at all it is cheeky, really I can’t help it, cheeky should be my middle name. And although I continue to be cheeky I must say that adulthood has knocked a bit of the magic out of life.
This may be because some magic for me is linked to firsts, you know experiences, first pet, first kiss, first crème brule, so maybe I don’t have as many firsts anymore. This could partly explain my compulsive desire to travel to new and exotic places. But it’s not only firsts as some things I have done several times and still find them magical, watching the garden grow and flower. Seeing a sunrise over the ocean, dolphins swimming, still magical, but the smaller every day miracles seem to elude me more these days.
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein
Stress certainly has a way of putting magic blindfolds on you, there is not a lot of magic happening for the anxious, stressed out person. Illness and other life circumstances can also limit your capacity to engage with magic, the death of a loved one, depression, winter, being a tired parent, working too hard, so many things can distance us from experiencing magic. Well enough I say! because some these things will not go away. I still need to make a living and will at times experience stress and illness, unavoidable! So how then with the plethora of grown up issues can I reactivate some of my childhood wonder and excitement?
I’ve been thinking about it and have done some research and these are some of the things I thought I could try and you might like to as well –
- Notice what’s happening in your mind throughout the day, notice your mood could these thing be inhibiting you?
- Schedule times to experience magic, I am not kidding if you scheduled three times a day to find something magical, even without stepping outside you could definitely do it. It’s subjective of course.
- Create space for daydreaming, fantasizing or other such folly, just let yourself go. If you are out of practice you may need to start by creating stories in your mind and then let them develop further on their own.
- Tell your Ego to piss off! “Oh you are too old to be doing that!”, You just say, “Naha am not”, “Are too”, “Am not” ….. You know how this goes, your ego can be a bitch.
- Look for synchronicity, I love synchronicity, (for some reason though it is a very hard word to type my fingers just can’t get around it) I don’t care if it is just a coincidence that in itself is amazing!
- Allow yourself to feel love, all around you, from people, plant and pets just feel the love, yum scrum.
- Read beautiful words in poetry, in song lyrics, in romantic love declarations, allow these words to inspire you. Feel your heart dancing.
- Keep a cherish diary, and cherish, cherish, cherish away, everything magical that happened today
- Practice Mindfulness, of course you know it is crucial to be present so you can see the magic. Engage all of your senses – yes smell it, really taste it, see its beauty, touch the texture.
- Be spontaneous and go on adventures – join us on our Enchanting Egypt Trip!
- Connect with your Souls Desire
- Live like there’s no tomorrow, because you know maybe there isn’t
- Believe in magic – “And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” – Roald Dahl
Magic is not a cheesy children’s concept. It’s an experience our soul requires to feel alive in this world.
I would love to hear ways you create magic in your life and if you would like to share your ideas please comment below.
