This I Believe

Everything came together at one moment. I was in bed messaging a friend. I was yelling at him actually. I believe the phrasing was something like, “Stop being edgy and go outside and stare at a freaking leaf!” I believe in magic and that leaf is the basis for all of it.

The actual start is lunches at school. I eat outside when it’s warm. I like the sunshine over me and the leaves under me. I had finished eating and was lying on my stomach staring at a clover patch within the grass. Did you know leaves sparkle? They have this glittering sheen of a color that is somehow both white and everything but and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. First and foremost, that is my go to example of magic.

It got me thinking though. Leaves can’t be the only manifestation. Just as powerful are the stars. Lying outside at night, staring up at them, there’s this stillness that is not still. Those are the stars that people told stories about before everything was complicated. Stars are as constant as it’s possible to be and there’s something comforting about that which manages to quiet everything else.

I know that there’s a science behind it all and I do know the scientific occurrences that cause these to be true. I know, for example, that sun shines through raindrops which separate the ultraviolet light to create a rainbow. The how and why are not mysteries, but still that rainbow has power. Without fail, when a rainbow appears, I smile and stare and have to resist an urge to follow it. A rainbow is inherently magical and I would argue it’s not despite the explanation but in connection to it. For each specific step to line up in that moment to cause that result is magic just as strong as the emotional response it elicits.

I believe in quite a bit but it all comes down to one thing. I believe in magic. I believe we are magical. Every action comes down to that. I have an effect on that which surrounds me and it has a likewise effect back. I love watching one of my best friends talk about something she loves. Her face lights up. Her words are stronger and no matter what she says there is the same underlying message of I am alive and living and so are you and so are we all. I want to have the same effect. I want to remind people to live and love. I want to make my surroundings better so they can have a positive effect and maybe someday everything will be better. I can make some of that difference because just as surely as leaves, stars, and rainbows are magical, so am I.