Making magic
A friend emailed me yesterday saying that other than house chores he and his wife would enjoy spending time with their infant son. They are delighted to be parents and I am sure their son is delighted with them. Seth Godwin’s recent blog stated that instead of saying “It’s time to get back to work...we’d be better off saying, ‘I need to get back to making magic.’ Because that’s what we’d actually like to be getting paid to create.” My friend Becky emailed me “I have been using the phrase ‘making magic happen” with the members of the organization of which I am president.
Oxford dictionary defines magic as a noun meaning “The power of apparently influencing the course of events by using mysterious or supernatural forces...”
A friend of mine who has a Phd spoke at an NA meeting the other evening about how his life has been transformed from one controlled by the addictive/compulsive use of certain drugs which led to jail, loss of children and loss of self to one of helping others, to being on the road to regaining parental rights and the repair of his relationship with his partner. Another friend just celebrated 49 years in recovery from active addiction.
When my friend Becky uses the word magic she is referring to making the seemingly impossible happen; thinking outside the box; imagining a dream and making it manifest reality. Whether it is deciding how the organization of which she is president can provide practical help to the teachers and students in her area, creating in her kitchen, or infusing a friendship with hope and possibilities which might have seemed impossible she works magic. Her positive presence is like a zephyr covering miles. Often it seems she lives the line from the Robert Frost poem Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening “And miles to go before I sleep.”
I believe that we have the power to make magic happen in all our relationships with people, places or things. With regards to people this may mean letting go of one’s attachment to the outcome. Perhaps a relationship needs some breathing room; a hand up or the humility to acknowledge a shared humanness. Perhaps it needs accountability or silence. Perhaps it needs a listening ear. Perhaps less is more when creating something in the kitchen, designing a house, running a political campaign, or being the channel for a new symphony. Perhaps magic is as simple as letting someone who is struggling know that you are thinking of them. Perhaps magic is creating a quilt full of memories, deciding that violence is not an option, resolving that instead of destroying a homeless camp the community provides decent tents and even utilities. Perhaps magic happens when a community decides to see what happens if all people have a guaranteed income. Perhaps magic happens when a politician decides to listen instead of verbally attempting to dehumanise one’s opponent.
One might ask where magic comes from. One may wonder if indeed it is a supernatural force taking control. I personally think magic happens when I reclaim the belief that I merely have to reach for the stars; that I only have to catch what comes my way. It does seem as if the creative muse visits when I “get out of the way”; when I let go of all my expectations or preconceived idea of what should happen. Often, when writing, I just start with whatever words arrive. Eventually a coherent sentence appears. If I want to draw I begin with doodles. Magic happens when I allow myself to be open to the unimaginable. This is why magic seems supernatural. It is closing one’s eyes and grabbing the invisible stardust, slowly kneading it and letting it cover the earth. Who says that color cannot visit another color? Who says that a note cannot stand alone or visit an entire chord? Who says that telephones are not possible; that the horseless carriage cannot exist; that a positive political campaign is not possible?
One cannot envision magic because it is magic.
Rather than attempting to dream the impossible dream we could allow the dream to visit. Then we will experience magic.
Written September 21, 2010
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
A friend emailed me yesterday saying that other than house chores he and his wife would enjoy spending time with their infant son. They are delighted to be parents and I am sure their son is delighted with them. Seth Godwin’s recent blog stated that instead of saying “It’s time to get back to work...we’d be better off saying, ‘I need to get back to making magic.’ Because that’s what we’d actually like to be getting paid to create.” My friend Becky emailed me “I have been using the phrase ‘making magic happen” with the members of the organization of which I am president.
Oxford dictionary defines magic as a noun meaning “The power of apparently influencing the course of events by using mysterious or supernatural forces...”
A friend of mine who has a Phd spoke at an NA meeting the other evening about how his life has been transformed from one controlled by the addictive/compulsive use of certain drugs which led to jail, loss of children and loss of self to one of helping others, to being on the road to regaining parental rights and the repair of his relationship with his partner. Another friend just celebrated 49 years in recovery from active addiction.
When my friend Becky uses the word magic she is referring to making the seemingly impossible happen; thinking outside the box; imagining a dream and making it manifest reality. Whether it is deciding how the organization of which she is president can provide practical help to the teachers and students in her area, creating in her kitchen, or infusing a friendship with hope and possibilities which might have seemed impossible she works magic. Her positive presence is like a zephyr covering miles. Often it seems she lives the line from the Robert Frost poem Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening “And miles to go before I sleep.”
I believe that we have the power to make magic happen in all our relationships with people, places or things. With regards to people this may mean letting go of one’s attachment to the outcome. Perhaps a relationship needs some breathing room; a hand up or the humility to acknowledge a shared humanness. Perhaps it needs accountability or silence. Perhaps it needs a listening ear. Perhaps less is more when creating something in the kitchen, designing a house, running a political campaign, or being the channel for a new symphony. Perhaps magic is as simple as letting someone who is struggling know that you are thinking of them. Perhaps magic is creating a quilt full of memories, deciding that violence is not an option, resolving that instead of destroying a homeless camp the community provides decent tents and even utilities. Perhaps magic happens when a community decides to see what happens if all people have a guaranteed income. Perhaps magic happens when a politician decides to listen instead of verbally attempting to dehumanise one’s opponent.
One might ask where magic comes from. One may wonder if indeed it is a supernatural force taking control. I personally think magic happens when I reclaim the belief that I merely have to reach for the stars; that I only have to catch what comes my way. It does seem as if the creative muse visits when I “get out of the way”; when I let go of all my expectations or preconceived idea of what should happen. Often, when writing, I just start with whatever words arrive. Eventually a coherent sentence appears. If I want to draw I begin with doodles. Magic happens when I allow myself to be open to the unimaginable. This is why magic seems supernatural. It is closing one’s eyes and grabbing the invisible stardust, slowly kneading it and letting it cover the earth. Who says that color cannot visit another color? Who says that a note cannot stand alone or visit an entire chord? Who says that telephones are not possible; that the horseless carriage cannot exist; that a positive political campaign is not possible?
One cannot envision magic because it is magic.
Rather than attempting to dream the impossible dream we could allow the dream to visit. Then we will experience magic.
Written September 21, 2010
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
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