To Wonder
Lazy mornings and all the time in the world for our minds to drift like a boat on a quiet Lake. "Where to next?" we wondered, because back then, when we were young, we wondered a lot. And we were buzzed by possibility. Our boat would not drift for long, however.
The Lake began to stir, and our minds were just as restless. Our voyage was to other worlds where we commanded all outcomes. We had no compass, no mast or sail, no engine, no rudder, and no oars. We were slammed from side to side by impossibly huge waves. Clouds piled on top of each other, each one darker than the first. And the winds were howling relentlessly. Our boat seemed to stand still, as if bewitched within the center of a circle of Gods blowing at us from every direction.
But nothing could stop us. We could last forever, outlast this storm, the Lake, the earth, and all things treacherous. We had no worries, no fears, and we were each masters of the universe, plump with endless strength, joy and imagination.
We kept a bright glow in our hearts, not exactly sure where we were going, but knowing with certainty we were going somewhere... thrilling.
To wonder was magic.
To Imagine
Not all of us chose to conquer new worlds beyond the Lake. Maybe we just wanted to hang out and soak in the morning light. But then again, there were trees to climb!
Some trees looked like they went on forever, disappearing into that other place, a place beyond the clouds where the Angels play. Other trees looked ferocious... they wanted to reach out and grab us like a giant squid. Our minds were sent whirling.
At first we ran from these towering monsters as they terrified even the bravest of our bunch. But later we discovered these trees were not to be feared at all, instead they provided us with shade, protection and endless hours of climbing adventure. Their branches were stretching out to hug us, not hurt us.
And there were those trees that simply stood tall and elegant. The kind of trees where we would start our counts for hide & seek, our home base. Our safe place.
To imagine was magic.
To Laugh
And we found reasons to laugh, or they found us. Laughter made time stand still, as still as the Lake before our wild adventure, as still as a Sierra Juniper.
We could see and hear the folly of it all. Waves crashing on shore sounded like applause. The sea salt at our feet looked like snow.
Clouds morphed into magnificent, scaley creatures. Sandbars smiled. And all of it made sense, and made us laugh.
To laugh was magic.
To Love
And we loved. We loved the Lake. We loved the other worlds. The storms. The trees. The scaley clouds. We loved each other, and everything in between.
To love was magic.
"The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age." ~ Aldous Huxley
Where there's a WILL, there's a way
W-I-L-L: To Wonder. To Imagine. To Laugh. To Love. The four most powerful qualities we once had in abundance. Four things we seem to have in short supply now we're all grown-up. Four precious qualities we should never give-up as we grow-up.
"What was wonderful about childhood is that anything in it was a wonder. It was not merely a world full of miracles; it was a miraculous world." ~ G.K. Chesterton
Your child-self wants you to remember this: Wonder more. Imagine more. Laugh more. Love more. Where there’s a W-I-L-L there’s a way. The magic is still in you.
Here is Magic.