Can you see the Magic?
Someone said to me recently, “Your life IS really magical!”
In the context of the conversation, I had to agree. When I look at all the amazing experiences, alignments and synchronicities that have led me to this moment, I cannot deny that magic plays a role in my life.
But what is magic?
Is it something, outside of us, that sprinkles fairy dust on our heads as we walk through life that someone looking in would think that you have a fairy godmother watching out for you?
Or
Is it the ability to SEE the gift in every situation, even the ones that, on the surface, look painful and couldn’t possibly be serving your highest and best good?
I genuinely think it’s the latter.
Once you can see that everything in your life, even the shitty stuff, is there to create a shift within you, you can begin to see the magic working its way through your life to lead you in the direction of your dreams.
Let us break this down with some real-world examples:
You hate your job but do not want to quit; you find yourself laid off and you are forced to find a new job. While it is painful and scary initially, you find a new job that is more in line with what you want to do, and you end up feeling more satisfied.
You are dating someone who you think is the “one”. You plan the wedding, anticipate your future, select baby names, and then it disintegrates, leaving you profoundly disappointed. Years later, you find out that he was not the person you thought he was, and you realize you dodged a bullet.
Why can different people have these same experiences (job or relationship loss) and one will wallow in self-pity and another will see it for what it was, be made stronger for it, and move on?
That is the million-dollar question for most therapists and life coaches.
For me, it begins with the acceptance that “shit happens”, it’s not personal, and no one is out to get me.
For some people, it is impossible not to place blame on everything outside of themselves. “It’s not my fault!” We all know those people who refuse to take any responsibility for their lot in life. I call them “Professional Victims” and society is full of them.
They are unable to see the magic all around them.
But let us not focus on those that are blind to the idea that magic can show up in your life in many ways, some even disguised as “shit on a stick”.
Let’s focus on those that have the ability and most importantly the desire to “see” and the resilience to move through a storm and become stronger for it.
As I am sitting here writing this, I had to ask myself “Why has this come up to be discussed?” and I can’t remember! Old age? ADHD brain?
Oh yeah – how can we see and experience magic in our lives. That’s right. Let’s get back on track.
I don’t know if it’s maturity that comes with age or having to survive repeated beat downs from circumstances, but I’ve reached a point in life where I am able to step back and take a good hard look at what’s happening around me and ask to see it from the broadest possible perspective. It may take a while to get there, but I am finding that the time between the reaction ‘to’ and the seeing ‘of’ is becoming less and less.
That reminds me of a quote from Wayne Dyer, who said (and I’m paraphrasing) the evidence that we are becoming more spiritually evolved is the recognition it takes less time from reaction to acceptance.
Meaning that we are allowed to react to things around us that cause us grief or anger or dissatisfaction, but the length of time it takes to find our center and become less reactionary is shortened.
The idea that we are not supposed to react to what happens to or around us if we claim to be “spiritual” or “enlightened” is a bullshit narrative that was created in the New Age Movement. Spiritual bypassing refers to using spiritual beliefs and practices to avoid dealing with unresolved emotional issues, psychological wounds, and personal development tasks. It often leads to superficial coping rather than genuine healing and growth.” (I searched the definition on Google and AI provided the above).
Now I remember why this all came up to be addressed today – I saw a meme on Facebook with a person climbing a flight of stairs and they were bypassing several steps to get to the top one, labeled “Spiritually Evolved” and each missed step was labeled with things like “personal growth”, “meditation”, “self-acceptance”, “THE WORK”. (I searched everywhere to find it and cannot! ☹)
We all know of someone like this – that person who calls themselves a “Shaman” after taking a course or says everything is rainbows and unicorns while disrespecting their partner, children, and/or friends. That person who goes to Church every Sunday but runs you off the road and flips you the bird on the way home. The one who practices yoga and says “Namaste” to everyone as a greeting yet drinks themselves into oblivion every night to numb their emotional pain.
Now, I am not passing judgment, just making observations. We all have our inner demons and areas of imbalance in our lives that require our attention. It is an evolved being who can look in the mirror and admit to themselves that they have stuff to work on.
We are ALL in a constant state of rebuilding, renewing, becoming.
The cells in our physical body have a built-in cycle of renewal that can be aided or hindered by our choices – what we ingest physically, emotionally, energetically.
This also applies to our consciousness.
How are you feeding YOUR consciousness?
With old, worn-out dialogue that has no nutritional value?
Or someone else’s version of reality that does not serve you on your path?
Or worse, a belief that you are not responsible for anything in your life?
In Alcoholics Anonymous, the belief is that a person is ready for change and transformation when they can admit that they have a problem.
Hello, my name is Laura and I am….
Well, that is for me to know and believe me, I am fully aware of my human fragility and negative tendencies. I write about them in my books, utilizing my “radical transparency.”
Maybe that’s why I’m on this journey – to be a mirror for you. For you to see what it looks like to look deep within yourself and be willing to see what needs your attention so that you, too, can begin to see the magic in your own life.
That sounds like a worthy endeavor, doesn’t it?
I’m in if you are.