This Magical Life
Life is made magical not by mind-bending tricks, rather by the oft unwitnessed mundane. The unfurling of petals on a blooming daisy, the healing purr of a cat snuggled on a lap, a baby’s gurgling laughter.
Our ‘planning’ and ‘doing’ to make things happen in our lives blind us from the abundant ocean of magic that we live in. That magic is love. The very essence that our cells are made up of. This magic is expressed in nature’s love for every living thing — this substance is in us and in everything around us in every moment.
This love is seen and experienced through the eyes of patience, curiosity, and wonder. It is hard for a mind and intellect that is stressed and fatigued to perceive. Experienced from the space of stress, love and beauty go unseen or even cursed. Other’s joy and laughter become an irritant; our vision obscured from the beauty that may be right in front of us — a missed smile, senses immune to a garden in bloom or the dance of sunshine reflected on water; recoiling from the touch of a loved one.
When we see the magic in everything, the whole world becomes more welcoming and kind. Set aside the striving, doing, and achieving for just 5 minutes. Just stop. Breathe deeply. drop the shoulders, loosen the jaw. Simply observe the thoughts in the mind. Let the judgment of the intellect rest. Just let go. Slow and deepen the breath. Be still. Give into this space of doing and being nothing, just for a spell. When we step into this space, again and again, grace begins to flow in rivulets into our life. This is where the magic is. In the Being.
UNPLUG: Take a moment each day to pause and be in the presence of the commonplace magic of life, of you. Stop the busyness, set aside the to-do list. Just rest in the now. Feel into a moment of silence between words, thoughts, and activity. Listen to the wind, the birds. Watch a spider weave a web, stare at a blank wall, lay on your back, and with a soft gaze watch the clouds or the stars and dissolve into that space. Listen to the heartbeat between breaths. Relax the body. Breathe. This moment is enough. You are enough. Your very existence is magic.
