Who doesn’t smile when a magician shows you your card from the unopened deck, or gasp when that brave woman steps into a box knowing she is about to be sawed in half?!? For some reason, your brain and body go into hyperdrive when faced with these suspenseful, exciting unknowns. Why does magic effect us this way? We all know that the magician truly isn’t going to cut that poor woman in half, nor did he magically read our mind to know what card we had pulled from the deck. Regardless of what our brain knows, our hearts start to pump a little faster, we laugh with anticipation, and our pulse quickens as we play along.
It’s not what happens, but how it happens. The music quickens in the background, music that our brains associate with anticipation. The magician puts on a show for us, entertaining and
delighting our brains with his slight of hand and trickery. The audience claps with a contagious excitement and thrill for what has happened. And we leave happy.
Do we have to go to a show, or see a street performer to experience this thrill? I don’t think so. There is magic in every day. Imagine waking up every day with that same feeling of anticipation, not knowing how magical the day ahead might be.
Yes, there is the daily grind of making meals, cleaning, laundry, exercise, etc., but sit back a minute. There is anticipation all around you throughout these mundane tasks. While there may not be background music playing, I definitely enjoy folding laundry more as the pile to be folded gets smaller and I begin to see the bottom of the basket. There is a great sense of satisfaction when that basket is empty and the clothes are put away neatly. I smile then too. Sometimes, I might even applaud myself for a job completed. Why not? It is a magical feat to have found the time in the day to complete this task amongst all the others.
Think about how magical the world is to small children. A child who comes across a field of dandelions does not see a field of weeds the way most adults do. A child sees a field full of wishes to make, flowers to roll through, and endless possibility. I’ll never forget the first dandelion crowns my girls wore proudly on their heads, or how delighted they were when Do you Believe in Magic?!?! presenting me with this beautiful ‘flower’ for the first time. The whole world is magical in their eyes.
Why do we lose this magical mentality and zest for life? Sometimes the need to ‘adult’ forces our hand in that matter. Or at least we think it is supposed to.
Let’s throw that thinking out the window. I actually surprised myself the other day with a new way of thinking. My husband mentioned that Daylight Savings Time was already upon us.
This knowledge made me unbelievably happy. This is something that happens every six months, and I’ve been on this planet for almost 4 decades, but this tiny fact made me happier than my kids falling to sleep early. Why? Because the sun shines brighter and the days feel longer and spring in and of itself is a magical time. Flowers blooming, birds chirping, flip flops, the list is endless. That moment was just as magical to me as watching the magician’s signature trick.
I dare you to try it. Give yourself one day to find life as more of a surprise than you have in awhile. You will find magic in the smallest things. Enjoy that magic.
