I know that it is a little late to be talking about New Year's resolutions, but it never hurts to reflect on how the year is going. March is almost over (can you believe it?), which means that we have just about a quarter of 2019 under our belt! That is hard for me to believe. I guess time flies when you are having fun! But seriously, I want time to slow down...and this got me thinking, how is 2019 really going? Am I spending my time the way that I had hoped?
Like many others, rather than make specific resolutions, I have embraced the idea to pick one word to represent my hopes for the new year. Last year, my word was gratitude. Although, gratitude is most certainly the backbone of this year as well (I will never be finished with gratitude), I felt that I needed a new word that would both include and expand upon last year.
My word for 2019, is magical. Now, I'm not talking about the kind of magic that exists in fairy tales or that appears with the wave of a wand or in a spell. The online Oxford dictionary defines magical as: "beautiful or delightful in a way that seems removed from everyday life". This is the kind of magic that I am talking about. When I think about the word magic, I am thinking about the magical beauty of life like those incredible coincidences and beautiful moments that give us goosebumps, fill our hearts with joy, and leave us with a sense of awe and wonder.
One thing that I learned in 2018 is that miracles are all around us. They happen every day, and they are everywhere. It's up to us whether we want to see them or not. Maybe we are too busy, stressed, or distracted to appreciate them or even to notice them in the first place. Sometimes even when we notice, we explain them away so that they don't seem quite so magical anymore. But the miracles are happening, and it is up to us whether we notice and appreciate them. One of my favorite quotes hits on this sentiment perfectly:
"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though
nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a
miracle."
~ Albert Einstein
Which person do I want to be? The person who marvels at everything? The person who finds the beauty and magic in every day? Or the person who just shrugs at everything and says, "So what?" Isn't life more fun, more interesting, and more joyful when we let things amaze us? Do I really want to be that person who is so tough to impress? Who really wants to live the rest of their life like that "cool kid" from high school who was just "too cool" to ever show excitement about anything? That isn't going to be me. That's not how I want to live my days. I want to see the miracles. I want to marvel at these miracles and encourage others to marvel with me. I want to let life impress me.
For me, living a magical life taps into three areas: (1) mindfulness, (2) simplicity, and (3) curiosity. I plan to elaborate on these three areas in future posts, but for the sake of simplicity, I will just briefly explain each for now.
Mindfulness. Be present. If I am dwelling on the past or worrying about the future, I am likely to miss what is happening right in front of me. When I take myself out of the moment, I miss the magic. I miss the opportunity to appreciate or create a magical moment because I am preoccupied. Something else I have learned from this past year is that being present opens my heart to feeling genuine gratitude. It is hard to be grateful for something when we are too busy to notice it in the first place. And without gratitude, it is difficult to appreciate the magic all around us. Focus on this moment and on this breath. If I do this, my days will be filled with gratitude and magic.
Simplicity. Make things easy. Simplicity motivates me. Simplicity makes things more manageable, and it even makes things more beautiful. Yet so often, I complicate things. I make my lists too long. I overthink and overplan. I get hung up on too many details, and I am often guilty of asking too many questions. And when things get complicated, I am easily overwhelmed, and then I want to check out. Here is another favorite quote I have:
"Over-planning kills magic."
Overthinking does too. Pretty much any word that starts with "over" kills the magic and is the opposite of simple. Simplicity removes what is unnecessary - the trivial, the redundant, the distractions - so that we can see and appreciate what is really important and beautiful. Simplicity creates space and time in my life. When I remove the distractions and make room for what really matters, I am more likely to notice the magical moments...and create them as well.
Curiosity. Try new things. Explore. Create. Be open to what is possible. When I live my days with curiosity, I am less likely to let assumptions tell me what to do or how to think. I stop "knowing" so much. Instead of asking why, I ask why not? I let go of the things that hold me back and try, explore, and create anyway. I do it because it brings me joy. I do it because I love the process. I do it just because. It's about letting go of the perfect outcome that I have in my head and just doing what I love and being curious about how it will all turn out. Curiosity brings me joy and creates surprising opportunities for the magic to happen...and surprise is part of the magic. In fact, sometimes it is the best part.
A common thread across these three areas is imperfection. Mindfulness, simplicity, and curiosity all involve embracing what is and letting go of perfection. Imperfection can even lead us to our most magical moments...if we let ourselves see it.
This year, I don't want to miss the magic...and I hope I never miss it again.
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