Practical Magic

Welcome, I hope the week is treating you well and you're looking forward to a wonderful weekend, today..well, today I am going to write about magic, not because I am arrogant enough to believe I could better the work of JK Rowling, no mine is a much more every day kind. It always saddens me when I hear people – especially children- say they don't believe in magic, that it's all nothing more than a skilful sleight of hand and a few well-placed mirrors. I guess, as far as some professional magicians are concerned, that's exactly what it is, although their skill and showmanship is not to be taken lightly...but the magic I want to talk about, is a whole different kind and I believe it's achievable for all of us....let me explain...

To go back to those professional magicians, despite the fact we know, everything they are doing is a trick or illusion of some kind, it's not particularly difficult to suspend our logic and simply be enthralled, I am sure most of us have seen something and spent several minutes trying to work out how it was done. I think it may have been the great Harry Houdini who said, he never answered that very question, 'How is it done ?' because he knew, people didn't really want to know, as it would spoil the moment when they had watched him perform...in effect, the 'magic' would be lost. I think in recent years, there seems to have been a real drive to be able to find an explanation for everything, I don't doubt this is where perhaps some of the scientific community clash with those of a religious faith. After all, for example, those with faith don't need to know how the world was created, they accept their God was responsible and are thankful, whereas the scientists will spend years trying to prove it all began with a single-celled organism which bobbed its way through vast oceans until it hit land and realised, several million years later, perhaps developing some legs might make moving around easier. Speaking personally, I respect both sides and completely accept, everyone has a right to their own belief system...but where does my idea of magic fit in to all this ?

Well, I will never develop the skills of the professional magician, after all, I manage to make things disappear without needing a spell, usually it takes nothing more than my having a bad day and whole chocolate bars have been known to have been in the fridge one moment, and gone the next ! But I do experience magic..and I am talking the 'real deal', and I truly believe, if we can all acknowledge this is possible, we could all seek some out of our own. Now, recently, I told my partner I really wanted to see wild kangaroos ( and no, I don't mean angry ones)...as one who believes all animals should be left in their natural habitat, the prospect of a zoo visit really wasn't an option. Oh and before I go on, despite what you might think, there aren't kangaroos on every street corner in Australia, they are actually very difficult to see, aside from at dawn and dusk- even then, they are very wary of people. Frankly, who can blame them, when people roar their way through their home, in noisy 4x4 vehicles which run them over ! Anyway, my partner agreed to drive out to one of the state parks to see if we could spot some, so as dawn seemed the optimum time, we headed off while it was still dark. Once safely parked, we walked slowly down a winding path and, within a few moments, my partner stopped and pointed ahead of us...there, amongst the low bushes, were three kangaroos. They glanced up and looked straight at us, I could barely breathe, as I could hardly believe they were really there – which I know does sound a bit stupid, but when you're told these animals are difficult to see and suddenly you're confronted with three of them, well, it was pretty extraordinary. As we continued to walk, the whole area came alive with the unique sounds of the Australian Bush, kookaburras, parakeets etc, all making themselves heard. As it seemed we were the only two people there, I can assure you, it was absolutely magical, especially when one kangaroo bounced across the path in front of us. Anyway, after some time, we decided it was perhaps time to go and have some breakfast, so we turned to walk back up the hill towards the car park. Just as we turned the final corner, I saw another kangaroo standing at the side of the path, it stared intently at me,

“Seems like someone wants to say goodbye for now,” whispered my partner, so I said a very quiet goodbye and then the kangaroo hopped away into the bushes.

Now, you might be thinking, 'So you saw a kangaroo in Australia, whoop-di-doo !' But if you are thinking that, you are – with the greatest respect- missing the point. To be there, in that moment, the atmosphere and the wonderful encounter, left me awestruck – that, my friends, is magic. There are so many other occasions too, when you're out in winter and the first snowflakes drift down, especially at night, when they sparkle in the streetlights....or maybe when you meet that special person for the first time and your whole body tingles with anticipation when your eyes meet. When you give birth and your eyes rest on this perfect little person who has somehow been created within your own body....do you see what I mean now ? All of things are magical because they make us forget whether we are rich, poor, young or old...we are just in that moment.

I know I might be sounding like a crazy person and that's fine, I have no problem with that at all...because if being 'crazy' means being able to genuinely feel experiences, to be able to suspend all those things which allegedly make us 'adults' and just allow ourselves to be amazed, then 'insanity' is the path for me and it would seem I am in good company. I watched a documentary by actress Joanna Lumley, where she went in search of the Northern Lights, after much trekking through several feet of snow, in below zero temperatures, she looked up and suddenly the night sky was filled with arguably the most dramatic light show, nature can produce. Joanna was clearly completely bowled over by the extraordinary sight and said almost nothing, just gasped in wonder, in fact, she was moved to tears. So, even though I don't know her personally, I believe she understands exactly what I mean about magic – she has experienced it.

I do worry about young people though, especially those raised on CGI movies and all the technology which seems almost mundane to them. They are in danger of not being genuinely surprised by anything, after all, they have almost instant access to every part of the world, at little more than a click of a button – so ironically, perhaps magic for them might be a little harder to find. But then again, those who read, know what it feels like to be transported from their bedroom to all kinds of wonderful locations, be it Narnia or Forks, Wonderland or Hogwarts -and that's a kind of magic too. I worry more about adults though, we are at risk of seeing everything with a kind of world-weariness, where everything seems nothing more than a potential problem, where the 'realities' of every day life could potentially stifle any hope of enjoying the unusual without a deep-rooted suspicion it's not going to end well.

I can do nothing about removing those concerns, but hopefully, maybe by reading this post today, you might be able to think back and remember a time, when you were left speechless by something amazing...and maybe that memory will inspire you to find some more 'magic' of your own....until then...

Take care out there xx