Do You Believe In Magic?

I believe in magic. I have no real proof to substantiate this belief, just the feeling that it exists, and it exists all over the place. I’m not talking about the magic that illusionists perform, although I certainly believe in the cleverness with which that magic is performed.

I also believe in the power that some people have to captivate others, and in some cases bend them to their will. I guess that might be considered a form of magic, but I’m not really sure. Maybe it’s just some talent they have.

I was present for the birth of both my children and while most people think of this as merely a part of life, it really felt kind of magical to me.

Just like it did on both occasions when I knew that my wife and I just weren’t having sex with each other but we were making something wonderful. I really felt, in that moment, that something not quite normal was happening, and although I can’t be 100% sure it was magical. It was close enough for me to believe it sure could have been.

If you open your mind up to a lot of the things that are going on in the universe, you can see bits and pieces of magic everywhere.

I was looking at the moon one night through a friend’s telescope, and thought to myself, how does that ball hang there in the sky like that? Has to be magic right?

Then there are all the hundred billion-plus other stars, planets, galaxies, and constellations out there far beyond the reach of a small telescope and you think, how can that be and how did that happen? Had to be some pretty powerful magic to throw all this universe together, and not have a whole lot of stuff bumping and crashing all the time. Or maybe it does and we just haven’t seen it yet.

I believe that creativity is a form of magic.

I started writing when I was about 17. It was nothing special, just a poem for my high school yearbook. But just the other day, I found it cleaning out a drawer. I stopped and stared at it and thought to myself, maybe that was a magic moment for me. The moment when my whole future was decided. The moment when I felt a little of the magic that writers feel when they have finished writing something and they are happy about it.

It gave me a little buzz to think about that, and then, in a wild cascade, I started to think about all the stuff I had written since then: blank verse, love letters, song lyrics, screen stories and screenplays, a novel, advertising, essays, trade articles, and blogs like this one. Too many thoughts and words to really count. Just a massive body of work that has never been anything less than a labour of love. Maybe there is some magic there. Then again, maybe we just need to alter our perception of what magic means in order to truly appreciate all there is.

Is it really something that defies explanation? Or is it just little peaks in the peaks and troughs of everyday life? Is it a dream? Is it a thought that enters your head and settles there to make you deal with it? Is it something you heard that changed your life, even just a little? Is it just what you see when you look around? All the life that blooms and flows and walks and runs and flies all around us. Is that magic?

Some days it all feels like that to me.

The idea that magic is all around us is intriguing. If you really embrace it, it can reshape the way you look at your world and your place in it. It can explain many of the things that have defied explanation in your life. It can show you a whole plethora of possibilities that you never saw before.

That all sounds wonderful when somebody writes about it. But the real magic is in taking that thought and running with it. The thought that you are the magic, and that you can do anything you want as long as you believe in that power.

I believe the world moves forward because of its magicians. The ones who believe they can, and believe strongly enough that they actually pull it off.

They create magical things that make the world better. They are the living, breathing soul of humanity, and they are all over the place. Doing all kinds of magical things, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.

But most importantly, I believe that it is the job of every one of us, to figure out if we can be one of those magicians.  And if we believe we can, to do everything we can to make that magic a reality.