FINDING MAGIC- IT’S WITHIN YOURSELF
My friend gave me a magic wand. It’s pink and blue and green with beads and wires crossing and intersecting. It loops, twirls, and is tangly, colorful, and beautiful! She made it herself from her daughter’s beads and bobbles from various art projects. It’s different from what we think a magic wand would look like, but magic can do whatever it wants! I guess it could be anything you want it to be…but she told me it’s a magic wand, and I believe her.
Ah. A magic wand! Remember when we were girls and the magic wand was a romantic, mystical part of our fantasy
worlds? We were drawn by the surrounding wonders, looking toward that magical world when we would one day be women, the prince appearing to propel us away to lavish lives and see over our everyday cares.
As we matured, the inevitable day came when we realized that the prince is a childhood myth and the magic is within ourselves. The prince is a childhood myth, and the magic is within us. No more fairy tales. And that’s okay, too. How could we grow, learn, and experience life if we gave all our being to that imaginary prince?
When I see that magic wand, handmade and given to me in friendship, it gives me pause. We all want a little magic, we wanted it as girls, and we still want it as women! The difference is that, as women, we know we can be the creator of magic. And we’ve learned that when we give charm, we get it back.
Remember the magic in your life.
Here are seven steps I’ve come up with to make magic happen.
Step One:
List events from your childhood you thought seemed magical. Write them down. Write your feelings during the experience: excitement, awe, giddiness, wonderment?
Step Two:
Reflect on the feelings of those magical childhood moments. Now, take a look at your life today. List events or
happenings that have occurred to you since you have been an adult that had that “magical” effect on your life.
Step Three:
How did the feelings about day Two’s events differ from when you were a child? Or did they? Were they accepted with that same enthusiastic sense of wonder?
Step Four:
We all love magical moments. Define what a magical moment would mean for you. Caution: Don’t be too practical…this is magic, after all.
Step Five:
How can you create magic for yourself? Can you build it through nature, art, or music? Could it come from “writing that song? Painting that canvas? Growing those flowers?
Step Six:
Pick one magic goal. Yes, you can certainly work toward magic. You can create your own, step by step. Start your plan to get that magic for yourself. What’s the first, second, and third thing you will do: buy flower seeds, plan a camping weekend, and start a savings plan for a trip to the Queen Mary?
Step Seven:
This is major! While creating your magic, pick one person to make a little magic for, too. A child? A grandmother? Work him or her into your plan. Write down a simple way to create magic for the people around you daily.
It can be as simple as a smile or as complicated as a college plan. It’s yours to choose.