Some Kind of Wonderful

“I go running when I have to. When the ice cream truck is doing sixty.”

You know those moments, when something flicks your switch, you feel fully alive, you momentarily forget you are a grown-up, you throw your head back and start laughing hysterically, you fall asleep smiling because you feel incredibly blessed, you dive into a breaking wave in the ocean! It is these moments of glee, without-a-second-thought, on any given day… we, put simply, are Celebrating The Everyday! And when it happens, it reminds us that we have ’still got it’ -got what? That spark, that passion, the joy, the shine, we have each other, life is wonderous…. let’s say it’s like ‘magic’.

Life is full, and let’s admit, what happens the majority of the time is not so ‘magic’. Morning breath, rush hour, longs days at the office, raising kids, forgotten library bags, running errands, shopping lists, bad-hair days, walking the dog, scrubbing the floor, baskets of ironing, balancing the cheque book. Leading our preoccupied, predictable lives, and somewhere in all the day-after-dayness we can forget to even notice the ‘magic’ has dissappeared.

We all want to live with a touch of magic dont we? I sure do! I believe the magic is often more simple and real than we figure. It is not what the media portrays or what the unatainable images in the glossy magazines reflect. Rather it is choosing to find, to share, to engage, to create and embrace moments of magic in the middle of everyday life! Let’s not miss it!

Five little ways to bring some magic into everyday life….c’mon let the fun in and capture the specialness with me:

1. Remain a student. Love to learn. Don’t graduate from being goofy, ever. Like I did, take a yoga class or salsa dance class. Go on, get awkward, take yourself somewhere out of your comfort zone! Stretch some muscles, laugh out loud while doing it, this could be some kind of wonderful you forgot you could have, it was for me! Fitness and movement and adventure is fun and exhilarating. Take a ‘leap of faith’ and drag your family and friends along with you! Learn a new recipe, plant a herb garden. Take your children indoor rock climbing, fishing, go-carting. Commit to learning new things, trying new things. Do you order the same dish when you go to a restaurant, deviate from your usual modus operandi. You don’t have to always do what you have always done. Give yourself and others permission to grow and learn. Celebrate new things, new tastes, new adventures and new experiences everyday.

2. Life’s not a crystal glass of Veuve Clicquot everyday! But why not whip out those special linen napkins, the special china dinner set that you have safely packed away. Don’t save things in pristine glory. Too often we save things only for ’special occasions’ but why not decorate your ordinary days with a little bit a magic. Because sometimes ‘later’ becomes ‘never’. I dare you, use your good china tea set, and do it as often as possible. Set the table for meal time with a little extra thought, pick a fresh flower from the garden, make mealtime inviting for your family and friends. It might just create some magic. For me, I never save my special bottles of perfume for the odd date or special nights out, on purpose I use them every day!

3. Spread the love. Lightening the burden for someone else is the most rewarding thing you or I could ever do. I have discovered that volunteering is the biggest heart-swell, warm-fuzzy thing I can do. And it isn’t hard. It just takes a little extra thought and a little practice, and before long you can reach beyond your own life and share some of that magic. Give away a basket of groceries, cook an extra meal, hold someone’s hand, donate clothes to the charity store, buy a box of cookies from the kids fundraising in your neighbourhood, water someone’s garden, sit and listen to an elderly person tell their story. It is by spending oneself, you become rich. Volunteering can be some kind of magic too. I recall the words of Booker T. Washington “If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.”

4. Grow gratitude. Journalling is something I love to do, the exercise of putting feelings into words is magic for me. I like writing my gratitude lists and writing out my prayers, and thankfully God can read my handwriting! But journaling can often be intimidating and all too time consuming. But why not introduce ‘deliberate conversations’ with your children and loved ones. Maybe once a week or at quiet times, like bedtime… take the moment to prompt the question “What are you grateful for?” or ask yourself like I do, “What am I grateful for today?” …whatever it might be. Chose to be thankful and celebrate the wins, to notice the postive things, to say them out loud, it will do your heart some good! You will see the magic in each other’s eyes.

5. Be Serious about fun. Be intentional about fun stuff, plan it, prioritise it. Most games are online on the computer, but I love the tradition of games nights! Old fashion fun around the table with a pack of UNO cards, Balderdash, Monopoly, Scrabble, Billionaire, preferably anything that is rowdy and boisterous. One of our fun family traditions, is watching the dvd ‘National Lampoons Christmas Vacation” ..we quote lines from that movie all year round. Laughing together somehow quietly ties little strings that connect our hearts. Goofing around is wonderful and laughter is like medicine. Smiles glowing on friend’s faces is one of the most beautiful sights in the world. Togetherness and laughter, bring those two elements together and you have magic. Even more magic when you have great snacks on the table along with!

So don’t lose the magic in the grind of daily life. Surely it is the magic moments we all remember and cherish and replay in our memories forever. Maybe you have long given up on the magic in life, or with your family or in your business? I have been there and felt that same ‘hemmed in’ feeling. But with a few conscious decisions, to let the fun in, everyday and suddenly you will feel free as a bird again, you can get a glimpse of the magic once more, and before long people are asking you “Why are you so cheery?”.

In Los Angeles where I live, the month of June in California the weather each day starts of hazy and overcast. The locals call it “June gloom” …I guess life’s like that, it is was you call it! Instead I like to say “its just cloudy with a chance of wonderful.”

Friends, may you feel the magic, chase the ice cream truck, share in rip-roaring laughter, embrace gratitude, set the table with the special silverware, hug your loved ones a little tighter and longer just because its magic, it really is. And in the beautiful words of Maya Angelou “Love life, engage in it, give it all you’ve got. Love it with a passion, because life truly does give back, many times over, what you put into it.”

Carpe diem!

Tagged as: Rochelle