Do you believe in magic?

“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” William Butler Yeats

I love quotes.  I love to hear a lifetime of knowledge condensed into a single sentence.  I also love the idea of magic.  Now, I don’t believe that we can cast spells on one another or move things with just our thoughts or turn lead into gold.  The definition of magic is: “the power of apparently influencing the course of events by using mysterious or supernatural forces.”  I’m going to ignore the words “apparently” and “supernatural” because I want to only consider things that actually exist.  So for this discussion that leaves us with a definition “the power of influencing the course of events by using mysterious forces”.  That’s the kind of magic I love.  

Think about the first part of Yeats’ quote: that the world is full of magic things.  There are so many things in our lives that are mysterious - the worlds orbiting all the stars in our sky, the way that 6 single ingredients can combine to create the flavor and texture of fresh baked bread, or the moment our child erupts in laughter over something in their imagination.  We can’t even see most of those interstellar worlds let alone understand what is happening on them.  I don’t understand how food can taste so good (or bad) or how we have the capacity to feel so many emotions.  These things are magic because they are under the influences of forces that are mysterious.  

The second part of Yeats’ quote is where the real beauty lies.  The magic, the mystery of our world, is there for us to experience and discover.  Our growth through our lives and humanity’s growth across generations brings understanding about the magic and mystery in our world.  It’s all a beautiful thing of which we get to be a part.  Isn’t it wonderful to always have magic in our lives - discoveries just waiting for us to grow to a point where we can enjoy them?

I have always felt that photography is one of the most magical things in my life.  With my lens, I can change reality by manipulating light.  With my camera, I can stop time in a single image.  Sharing my work with others allows me to show what I see with anyone.  I absolutely love being able to do these things at almost any moment I experience.  I feel the force of magic, the power of love and the beauty of life when I take photos.  It brings me great joy and sharing that joy with my family, friends and clients is also magical.  

I hope that you have something like that in your life.  Something that transforms what you see, hear and feel and gives you the power to change your world.  When we have our own magic, life is so beautiful!