Magic doesn’t have a Calendar
The start of this new year wasn’t especially magical. In fact, nothing magically happens on January 1st. But we like to think of the newness as supplying some incentive for change. Our arbitrary decision to follow the calendar to keep track of time makes scheduling efficient. Tracking time on a calendar provides a method to create some order. We love to control things and time seems like a good place to start. The never-ending, centuries long practice of trying to use time well inhabits all of us naturally. I wonder if the cave people had issues with making future plans without their Google calendars.
The Magic Words
It is well known that there are magic words to use to create opportunities. When we are young, the giant adults encourage us to say those special terms to receive something, usually a treat or a sweet. Adult magic words can vary but I am sure that hearing words of love out loud would change the conversation tone more regularly. If we just blurted out “I love you” to everyone we see today, that would probably startle them. It might be fun to see the response. For some of us, real magic words would be more useful if they helped us get to sleep quickly, avoid bullies, get raises without having to squirm and perform for the boss or teleport back and forth to our mom’s house for our favorite dinner.
Magical Thinking
I would like to normalize magical thinking. When we elevate thoughts to that higher level, we think they aren’t as easy to access. The possibility of dreaming past our own norm is intriguing and opens us up to new opportunities. Perhaps we can all agree on changing Tuesday to Magic Day. Tuesdays are already in a grave need for overhaul. Changing our thoughts about having a designated day to create and enjoy magic would allow us to see it more often in the wild. Bringing attention to a day of magic could help us expect different outcomes. All those tacos would automatically come with a side of queso and chips.
Expect Magic
For the rest of the days of the week, let’s just change our expectations. As the day begins and I set my intention about what I want to notice throughout my day to add to my gratefulness list at night, I will look for magic. It’s there everyday. When that great parking space opens up, or there’s no line at the post office, or it stops raining as soon as I need to drive in heavy traffic, I will recognize that a little magic just fell my way. When we take notice of magic, it makes us feel like we just got a treat for no reason. The best magic will be the stuff that you deliberately make for someone else. Turning down the bed at night, not turning on the TV and playing a game or talking, reminding someone how special they made your day all work wonders for someone else. Amusement parks aren’t the only magical places; your life can be too.
Can you be a magician in life? If magic could make something disappear for you, what would it be? If magic could make something appear for you, what would it be?
