“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
Magical thinking. I remember a friend of mine once tried to explain it to me. It didn't make sense at the time and as he was heavily biased against it, he didn't do a great job of trying to convey it to me.
I remember magical thinking as a child. I remember trying to conjure up visits by my best friends and being heavily disappointed when they never arrived. I was just a kid who was hell bent on the idea that if you absolutely believed in something enough, you could totally make it happen and bring it about. I was naïve and young, but I was a dreamer, a believer and I saw magic all around me. I saw it when the wind blew over the seedheads of grass stalks and the clouds created shapes of angels and dragons, bunnies and pumpkins. I watched it weave magic into my life through nature by having found a litter of baby mice plus the mom and being able to keep them as wild pets until they were big enough to be set free with their mother back in the wild. I touched magical red trees that stood 35 metres tall as if trying to pierce the sky with their boughs.
Throughout my life those magical moments became scarcer as life sped up and I lost my childlike playful attitude and magical thinking. Perhaps this is when we start to become more wise, but wouldn't it be amazing to hold onto that magic, if not just for another few years.
I spent some time with my niece this weekend and in her actions and words, I smiled as I recognised that same beautiful, young naivety and love for magical albeit totally unrealistic things. The fact that she believes that even though a frog has hopped away from you and dove into the water, if you call to it softly for a while, it is sure to come back. The fact that she greets every bird, lizard, bug and cat that she finds along her way and was appalled at the fact that a caterpillar she promptly put onto my finger decided to bite me. She believes that they are all our friends and she tries to nurture relationships wherever she goes. It is so sweet in it's purity but on the other hand makes me sad to think that perhaps one day her spirit will be chipped away with age the same as mine was where magical thinking doesn't even seem possible anymore because once bitten twice shy.
I hung onto that beautiful girl this weekend. I held her close and watched the sunlight play and bounce on her hair. Her radiant smile brightened up the room as she convinced me to skip with her to the playground where I could push her on the swings and help her to not look down while on the balancing beam. She believes there is magic in the world and I saw so much magic in her this weekend, it was like a breath of fresh air. If only I could help her to hold onto that through her life and teach her that even when we get hurt, there is still possibility and there is still opportunity for magic. Even if our hearts get broken, battered or bruised, we can still believe that that there is good in the world and that every day we have is worth living to the fullest and to grab the best parts and let them shine out through us and our actions, let us be the light in the world for the next person...if I can do that, then I think I've fulfilled my role in her life as an aunt and a friend.
What do you think? Do you still believe there's magic in the world?
The image is mine