Do You Believe in Magic? ~ by Andi Lawrencovna

To start, I sang that as I typed out that question. I sing a lot of things, it’s like my go-to personality trait. Or a bad habit. Or both. Whatever. But I can’t help myself. I hear words that come from or have been used in songs, and I tend to just go with them. For the record, you don’t actually WANT to hear me sing, but…it just kinda happens.

Of course, that’s not really what this is all about though now, is it?

This is about Magic, and believing in it, and feeling it.

I am a HUGE fantasy buff. I love stories that have magic in them. I write fairy tales for heaven’s sake, so OF COURSE I believe in magic! I have to…

But…

Every now and then I forget how very real magic is in our world today.

With constant talk of struggles and defeats, the downtrodden and the treading on, it’s so easy to forget about the simple things in life that bring us joy, and joy is the greatest magic, or one of the greatest magics, that the world offers us.

Joy. Happiness. Love.

I’m not a bleeding-heart romantic…well, I kinda am, but if you share that, I’ll show you the Scorpio part of me, too…which is not romantic, just to be clear…you’ve been warned…

Anyhow, the human experience is full of tiny magics that we have been taught to underestimate and ignore because they don’t “advance us further” in our careers, or lifestyles, or whatever. I mean, really, can you get ahead by picking up a piece of litter on the ground? What the heck is that gonna do for anyone in the long run? And, how is that a type of “magic?”

So glad you asked…

Let me tell you a story. It’s short, I swear.

I was lucky enough to travel with my parents to Disney World last

week. Yes. I’m a thirty-year-old woman without children who still goes to Disney World with my parents and has a blast every single time (MAGIC!!!!).

While we were there, beyond the expected smiles and giggles and overall joy that you are surrounded with by all the children stepping into this world of absolute happiness, we stopped at one of the Disney resort hotels. 

A bellhop was taking some family’s belongings inside, the family having already rushed ahead to get out of the oppressive heat. As he was walking along, a pair of pants flew off a hanger and onto the ground. I didn’t see it at first but heard some couple next to me saying: “Oh look, he lost that. That’s not gonna be good.” 

So I turned to look at what had been lost, made the connection between bellhop and pants, and started moving towards the man and his missing luggage, calling out to him to get his attention. He didn’t hear me, understandably, and kept moving forward, so I stooped to pick up the clothing and ran to catch him before he got too far away. The shock on his face at being stopped morphed to an expression of supreme gratitude. It might have been my imagination, but his eyes seemed to get a bit misty when he met my gaze and “Thanked me sooo much” for getting the pants back to him.

It was a simple, inconsequential gesture for me.

A good deed, perhaps, but really, what did it cost me? What did it get me in return?

The answer: a moment of magic.

The bellhop smiled at me. He didn’t offer me any perks or anything like that, not like I expected anything like that, mind you, but I felt his relief, that exhale of air that said: it’s gonna be okay for a moment more.

He went about his business. I caught up to my parents.

We all went our separate ways and I don’t know his name from Adam, and he probably couldn’t pick my face out from a crowd, but it was magic in a way that I forget about most days of my life.

Maybe it was because I was in a place where they’re constantly

touting: “The magic is all around you!” And it is. At Disney, there is this pervasive feeling of “other” that surrounds you. Whether from the constant smiles of park attendants who, granted, are trained to smile and be bright and cheery all the time, or from the children who run laughing and jumping all over the place, clutching brightly stuffed animals in their arms... I can’t say, but it’s everywhere, and you can feel it.

It’s easy to forget about the simple magics in life when we have to rely on humdrum jobs and maybe one or two weeks off a year to finally take a breath. Having a moment when you can actually enjoy something is very rare and too often overshadowed by other worries that worm their way in.

The magic of fantasy stories, of fairy tales, allows us to believe in something else for a minute or two, escape to another world where wishes are made on stars and dreams come true.

Today, I would like to suggest and hope to share with you a moment of a dream that came true right down the road from you. Maybe a little further then down the road, but same difference. Don’t get me wrong, escape as often as you can into a good book, but make sure to find the magic around you in the everyday as well.

A smile. An act of kindness. The person who holds out their hand to help a stranger cross the street. That’s magic, too. I hope I’ve helped spread it a little bit with you today, and I hope that you do believe in magic. Sing a song from the words someone says. Give a hug to a stranger who looks like they need it. Run away when that stranger calls the cops…oh, wait, that’s not what I’m trying to say.

Moral of the story, magic is that something in our lives that makes us smile when we don’t think we can anymore, that gives us a fresh breath when the weight of the world is threatening to crush us. It’s watching that puppy meme on Facebook or oddly laughing when parents throw cheese on their babies heads (I don’t get it either, so I can’t explain it further). 

You don’t have to go to Disney World to see and feel the magic.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d forgotten all about it until I had a chance to travel and visit Mickey Mouse for a few days. But hopefully I will remember this lesson, because it is a lesson I truly believe is worth remembering. The greatest magics in our lives don’t come from spells and wishes and dreams, they come from each other and doing acts that are great in how small they seem.

Have a magical day. May your dreams always come true, and may someone pick up a pair of Hawaiian pants for you someday, too!

All photos courtesy of Andi Lawrencovna