Do You Believe In Magic?

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“We are like someone in a very dark night over whom lightning flashes again and again.” – Maimonides

I just finished watching the first three seasons of Arrested Development. The impending change where the show would no longer be available on Netflix finally got me to watch this hilarious and highly -recommended (well, the first three seasons were touted as worth watching) show.

In the show, the eldest brother, Gob, is a magician. A ham-handed, totally inept so his tricks never work, kind of magician. But somehow his character in this show works with all the other characters to make magic of the worth-watching variety.

Do you believe in magic? I mean really believe in magic so that when it comes to getting your deepest desires, something will step in and help along the way?

I don’t. I believe in a lot of things that create magic – being present, finding joy, and counting my blessings to name a few habits that keep me more or less delighted with my life.

And I believe in listening to my inner voice – my God voice or intuition, and then following it. I believe in a Higher Power that I am so grateful to for that inner voice that points me in ways that are bigger and better than I could imagine on my own.

But I think all the work to make life happen is up to me. I don’t think magic will save me, or give me huge leaps to skip over all the steps.

However, I have the feeling that I’m wrong. I have the feeling that magic is happening all around but just on a different pace so that it seems undetectable. Before you think I’ve gone over the bend from watching too many Disney movies (which might also be true), just bear with me.

The other day I was frustrated with a friend – I’d reach a limit of too many bids for connection that had gone unanswered. I’d been totally fine with that for a while because my friend has a lot going on right now but it had reached a tipping point where my heart was starting to feel sore. I was just thinking that I needed to quietly close this door between us when my friend, completely unbidden by me or aware of what I was thinking, sent me a gift.

On Monday, I was working alone at home on a day with no meetings when I suddenly felt disconnected from life around me. I walked to the grocery store, Pictures of You from the Cure was playing on the overhead speakers. As I was dancing down the aisles connecting to memories of my college days, I ran into an old friend.

Or this morning my skin was feeling itchy like it couldn’t stand one more day of winter clothes, and I opened the window to see the blossoms on the tree out front had shown up like magic overnight. (see featured photo)

And my final example is right in this moment when I realized this post, that I thought was completely unconnected to my Wise & Shine post this morning Fear and Courage, is actually completely related in the way that when we acknowledge we are scared, lonely, or fed up, help arrives.

If our lives were a tv show like Arrested Development, the magic would probably be easy to see. But since life doesn’t work that way, it’s up to us to see the magic.

70 thoughts on “Do You Believe In Magic?”

  1. See the magic. I’m with you there…and now I need to go listen to the Cure’s “Pictures of You”. I can’t summon the tune…but I sure do appreciate the wisdom around the reference. xo! ❤

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  2. I don’t know if it’s magic per se, but I believe there’s no such thing as coincidence…and you know my track record when it comes to manifesting. Which in itself is a kind of magic when you really think about it.

    Great song, great band. We should all dance to The Cure.

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  3. You’re absolutely right Wynne in that the magic is all around us. We just need to have eyes that see. A garden is a perfect place. Often what we call magic or coincidences or synchronicities are simply things that we mere mortals can’t understand. And just because we don’t understand it, doesn’t mean it’s not there. Like God for example. If we can believe in God, we can believe in magic. 💕

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    1. Oh, what a wonderful point about the garden. This reminds me of your affirmation post – find something small to watch. It’s magic, right? Beautiful comment and your ongoing work supports it so wonderfully! ❤

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  4. Those early seasons of arrested development are just phenomenal. They also gave me one of my favorite phrases to say in my head and sometimes out loud–there’s always money in the banana stand. Do you see luck an aspect of magic? As I’ve aged, I’ve begun to realize that quite a bit of the good in my life is driven by luck. Yes, I make positive things happen in my life, but they wouldn’t happen without a healthy amount of luck to first put all the pieces in the right place.

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    1. There’s always money in the banana stand – that’s a great one. And I’m still howling about Julia Louis Dreyfus’s dog when Michael takes him to the vet and finds out “Justice is blind” and the dog jumps off the table into the garbage can. 🙂

      A healthy amount of luck – isn’t it wonderful! 🙂

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  5. Some would say this is all coincidental. I believe there’s no such thing as coincidence. Everything in life happens for a reason. I wholeheartedly agree that magic is all around us, and it’s often in life’s simple pleasures. We just have to slow down, breathe, and appreciate!

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    1. I’m so sorry I’m slow to respond to this comment, Michelle! I have no idea why – but it got caught in spam. Thank goodness I freed it.

      Because I agree wholeheartedly – we just have to slow down, breathe and appreciate!! Thanks for the wonderful comment! 🙂

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  6. Your winning personality surely claims much of the magic needed to draw the best from others. Call it what you will, no doubt Wynne creates winning.

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  7. The magic was hearing Picture’s Of You, a wonderful track, Wynne. Perhaps we place the word magic to connect aspects of our lives where persistence and coincidence overlap. I agree with you that sometimes there does seem to be a higher order in play at times.

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    1. I love your phrase “persistence and coincidence overlap,” Davy! That sounds like it could be one of your poems if it isn’t one already! Yes – a higher order at play for sure!

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      2. Oh EA! Just from what you described in your post I had strong feelings that it was probably Covid. So sorry, please take care of yourself and monitor things closely for any worsening issues.

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  9. Thank you for sharing the photo of the trees in blossom 🌸 they’re still bare here. I think magic is around if we look for it, and are open to seeing it

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  11. Belief is a difficult word for me Wynne. Do I believe in an entity most refer to as God? No but I believe in the creation of this vast universe full of matter and atoms and a force that connects us all in ways we don’t even comprehend, and may never completely understand. It is much the same with magic. There are things that I see or have experienced that seem inexplicable to my logical scientific brain so I pull up fancy words like coincidence, serendipity, synchronicity. I am very focused now, but have always felt drawn to the natural world and our human ties with our planet. There is a force and a knowledge that again is unseen until you begin to search out how people long before us have come to understand and use it’s power to sustain themselves and how our indigenous cultures are tied to the earth… While I can’t explain any of that even to myself I still try to remain open, to see and to question. I may never have an answer, but I am enjoying the pathways I travel to learn as much as I can.

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    1. I think two great quotes can help: Arthur C Clark’s “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” And the other one attributed to several people “Genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration.” 🙃

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      1. Yes! I love these quotes — and your quotes overall, EW. How do you come up with these for responses? Do you have them organized or is it like magic, they just come up off the top of your head?

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      2. You’re too kind 🥰 The way I think about quotes is as if they were gems along the lines of a Mark-Twainism, “I didn’t have time to write you a short letter so I wrote you a long one.” I think that the quotes are the “short letters” that may take longer to write but are so worth reading, and I have several quote books, which I’m not asha,Ed to admit I read because I like to immerse myself in those gems. Some stick in my head, some are on the tip of my tongue, and some I need to re-read to remember and marvel at them all over again. I love quotes. And magic 🙃

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      3. I love that Mark Twain quote, EW. And you’ve put your finger on something that I hadn’t quite grasped. It is like the hard work for a short letter. Yes! I love that you have quote books and thumb through them. I do that as well! XOXO

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  12. I love all the things you tie together here, Deb. And most of all, I love your learning spirit. You describe a world in which you will never be bored and whether you find the connections or not, are entirely engaged and interested. Beautiful!

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  13. “I don’t. I believe in a lot of things that create magic – being present, finding joy, and counting my blessings to name a few habits that keep me more or less delighted with my life.” – In agreement with you Wynne!

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  14. This is a very interesting post, Wynne, because I had always thought that your faith meant you would believe in the magic. But I can see where you are coming from.

    When our lives get so hectic, with kids and work and all the other distractions, it can weigh us down from those moments of true connection to the larger rhythm around us that let’s us easily tap into the magic.

    I love that those moments on that quiet Monday allowed you to tap into the magic. 🙂

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    1. You put it so well – when I get busy and weighed down, I lose my connection. Right! I also sometimes forget that I don’t have to do it all – just my part and then trust that the Universe will do something with it. Thanks for your great comment, Ab! Hope the magic is carrying you through this week! 🙂 ❤

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  15. I totally believe in serendipitous encounters (like you described). It happens to me in the most random, regular sort of ways. Good post. DM

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  16. I get these moments too and it’s funny how help comes when I do exactly what you said. It just happened this week. Maybe our rational brain is to blame, sometimes it’s easy to let the god-voice be present and run the show – and other times we shut it down without even being aware we’re doing it. At least this is usually what happens to me, hehe… Wishing you a brighter week.

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    1. What a great point – we shut it down without even being aware we’re doing it! Yes – especially when I’m knee deep in my to-do list, I’m usually closed to magic. Great comment – thank you for adding this to the discussion!

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  17. “If we could see the world through the eyes of a child, we would see the magic in everything.” I don’t know who said that, but Albert Einstein said this: “There are two ways to live your life. One is though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

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    1. What great quotes, Nancy! I love the Einstein one even though I continually have to come back to it to remember! And the eyes of the child one – I’ve never heard it but it’s perfect. Thank you!

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  18. I loved this post, Wynne. I believe there is SOMETHING out there that is much bigger than we mere humans and I believe amazing and miraculous things happen to us all the time. I believe we are all connected and that some of us ‘feel’ things we perhaps can’t explain or put words to. Things like your friend suddenly reaching out to you when you were just about to let go happen to me ALL the time. I can’t explain this, but I believe it’s more than simple coincidence 🙂💕🙏

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    1. More than simple coincidence – I totally agree, Patti! And I love that you affirm that you see it in your life too. I suppose it makes it so much more of a gift that way, doesn’t it? Thank you for chiming in and your kinds words!

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  19. This winter we’ve been watch The Librarian, a TV show that is about librarians saving the world from dark magic. The show is streamed on Netflix. It’s cute, almost pointless, but has got me thinking about magic more than I ever have before. I have no idea if it really exists or not, but it does seem like some connections are magical, but perhaps in a different way than with sorcery.

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    1. I’ve never heard of that show, Ally. Sounds like a fun premise and maybe interesting series to while away the dark winter nights. What an interesting distinction you make between magic and sorcery. Yes, I agree – some connections are magical and probably different from sorcery. I love the idea of librarians saving the world though!

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  20. I believe we have to work to make life happen as you said, but there is a point of diminishing returns. I also believe in the magic that often goes unnoticed. But I also believe in Sasquatch, so maybe I’m not the best person to be commenting on this 😂

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    1. A point of diminishing returns on our work to make life happen — what a great point. I just learned recently that Washington state is the supposed home of Sasquatch so you all need to come visit! 🙂

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  21. Pingback: Staring At the Sea - Davy D Writer

    1. I think you nailed it with the phrase “if we look for it and are open to seeing it.” Exactly – and meeting both is sometimes hard to do! Thanks for commenting – hope your trees bloom soon!

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  23. I so believe in magic, but call it faith. This post also reminds me of one of my favorite quotes by Oprah ““I believe luck is preparation meeting opportunity. If you hadn’t been prepared when the opportunity came along, you wouldn’t have been lucky.” 

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  24. Once, years ago, I saw this lovely blanket at a grocery store, of all places. (I was fresh out of college and didn’t buy it, nor did I speak of it to anyone.) Later for Christmas, it arrived as a gift from my godfather.

    I wanted a box set of Lord of the Rings book just like I’d seen on my sister’s bookshelf. All the ones in the store at the time featured the actors from the movies. I didn’t want that. I wanted the pre-movie, super old version. At work, someone donated a box of books, and guess what was right on top? The exact same set. My boss let me have them.

    A friend who spent time in India missed peanut butter. She literally dreamed of peanut butter. A care package from America arrived the next day. Guess what was included?

    Love that your errant friend sent you a gift. I’m sorry I’ve been a bit of an errant friend. :/ I also love that you danced in the grocery store. I’ve done that. Paul observed to me, “You’re fun.” 🙂

    Must get off the computer, but that shoe ad is back!!!

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    1. Wow wow wow – I LOVE this list!! What a great way to add to this post, thank you, my friend.

      And no, you haven’t been an errant friend. There’s another kind of magic that comes from friendships that continue no matter what time has elapsed…

      But now you have me wondering about the shoe ad – is it pointing to something you really need? 🙂

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  25. It’s always amusing to me when I see people discussing about the existence of magic because it always falls into these rigid categories of Yes’ and Nos’. To me, magic is purely subjective. Something to me might be magical while to others it might be something mundane. It’s more like beauty I think, existing in the eyes of the beholder.

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    1. Great point about the subjectivity of magic. I think I like to read about what others find magical because it reminds me to open my eyes to it. Thanks for reading and commenting!

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