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Finding Magic in Your Daily Life

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Love and magic have a great deal in common. They enrich the soul, delight the heart. And they both take practice. — Nora Roberts

If you know where to look for it, magic is all around us. You can find it in the beauty of nature, the power of love, and the vast mysteries of the universe. Magic can even be found in our own lives as well, but it doesn’t just show up at random…you have to create it.

If you’re unsure of how to go about that, here are a few guidelines to get you started:

Be Present

One of the best ways to create magic in your life is to be present in the moment. This means paying attention to your surroundings, what you are doing and who you are with, without letting your mind wander to the past or the future. When you’re fully present, you are more likely to appreciate the beauty of the world around you and the people in your life.

Do things that make you happy

Make time for activities that you enjoy and that make you feel good. This could be anything from reading a book to spending time in nature to listening to music. Heck, why not read a book outside in nature while listening to music?

When you do things that make you happy, you’re more likely to feel positive and optimistic, which in turn can create a sense of magic in your life. Even better when you can share these activities with others! …which leads nicely into the next point.

Surround yourself with positive people

The people you spend time with have a big impact on your mood and outlook on life. Find people with similar interests who enjoy doing some of the things you enjoy as well. Surrounding yourself with people who are positive, supportive, and uplifting will help you to see the good in the world and to create a more magical life for yourself.

Perform random acts of kindness

One of the best ways to bring magic into the world is to do something nice for others. This could be something as simple as holding the door open for someone or as big as secretly paying for someone’s meal at a restaurant. Has someone done something nice for you? Pay it forward and so the same thing for someone else!

When you do something kind for someone else, it not only makes them feel good, but it also makes you feel good. Who knows, maybe your act of kindness is the start of a larger chain of kindness!

Believe in magic

It may sound cliche, but magic is all around us. One thing’s for sure, if you don’t believe you’ll find it, you surely won’t. So what do you have to lose? Believe that anything is possible and that the world is a magical place. When you do, you’re more likely to find it all around you.

Creating magic in your life really isn’t about doing anything extraordinary. It’s easier than it seems, so go out and create some magic in your life today!

Life Lessons from a Broken Rubik's Cube

Life Lessons from a Broken Rubik's Cube

We had just finished dinner and my son was solving his Rubik’s Cube when all of a sudden we heard plastic hit the table and looked over to see that his cube had just exploded into pieces! As I’d collected the pieces into a bag, I wondered if I’d be able to successfully reassemble it.

Have you ever tried to solve a Rubik’s Cube? I have, and I solved it once, when I was very young. My dad had a classic Rubik’s Cube which intrigued me. I’d also discovered that he had a book which held all of the secrets on how to solve it. After reading through the various sequences of twists, turns and rotations I’d eventually solved it. It took some work, but I’d done it! Then, not wanting to memorize all those sequences of moves, I put down the cube and lost interest in it.

Roughly 30 years later, my son picked it up around the same time I did in life, seemingly following in my footsteps. Using a similar guide, he’d also solved the cube but took it a step further and memorized all those moves and sequences and can now consistently solve it in around 90 seconds! His current record is just under a minute. Certainly he’s going for speed now.

During his speed runs on the cube there had been a couple times where a piece had popped out and I had to pop it back in. We quickly discovered that you can’t just do that though. Did you know that it needs to be replaced in the correct position or else the cube will be unsolvable? Yup, I’ve had to pop that piece out again, rotate it and pop it back in to fix it.

This brings us back to the dinner table with my son’s broken Rubik’s cube. When it broke, the top slice and part of the middle slice had sprung apart, which meant that about half of the cube was separated from its core. Remember how I mentioned that it matters how the pieces are placed? That meant I couldn’t just pop them back in hoping for the best. In order to make sure it was solvable, I would have to take apart the rest of the cube, and rebuild it in the solved state with all the colors in place.

As I rebuilt it, I wondered if there might be some life lessons here. Really, how could there not be?