Sunday, March 9, 2014

Magic Everywhere.

It has taken me a while to get around to this hasn't it? Well, the days turn into weeks, which turn into months, which turn into almost a year since I wrote here last. I suppose I suspected by now no one is reading this. I was surprised to find that many of you still regularly check my blog, so I will oblige you with a bit of my thoughts.

College has been a wonderful experience so far. Last night a few of my friends and I camped out in the woods together, built a bit of a campfire and read books like Lord of the Rings and Robin Hood. For the first time in months it seemed warm enough to enjoy a decent night in the open. What a mistake! If it hadn't been for the fire I wouldn't have gotten a wink of sleep all night; we took turns watching it and feeding it with branches and the like we found from the forest. I had an odd feeling as I lay there in my blankets, staring up at the dozens of bright white stars and the moon shining through the darkness of the sky. The fire warmed my face and one of my best friends, Peter Scott, read to me about Meriadoc and his love for King Theodin. It was a weird feeling. I couldn't describe it as happiness; it isn't as if I wasn't happy, but happiness was too strong of a word. I didn't feel like laughing or singing or making any noise at all, and I definitely didn't feel like talking.

I felt content.

I felt thankful.

I was reminded that there was indeed so much in the world to be content and thankful for. There always is, whether I'm under the open side in a beautiful glade or curled up in the dorms back at home.

One of the biggest discoveries I've made since being at college is that magic does exist.

I'm not talking about dragons and fairies and elves and the like (though they may exist, who's to say?). Part of what makes these things magical is that they are wonderful creatures that do not truly exist. If they did exist in our world, they would not be considered magic.

There are things in our world that are just as wonderful as these but that we take for granted because they are real, and common, and something we see every day. If fairies were real we would take them for granted in much the same way as we take a butterfly for granted.

Take the firefly. Okay, think about it: there's this bug that goes around shining like a star in the middle of summer. THAT'S magic. that's beautiful. that's amazing, uncommon, wonderful. Birds are miraculous (can you fly?). Deer are much like elves in many ways; graceful, silent, and shy from us. These things are in many ways just as cool as the stories  we tell our children, but we don't call them magic because they exist. We take them for granted instead of recognizing their beauty and mystery for what they are.

I'm not taking them for granted.

Last night I felt magic everywhere. It's magic that the fire is licking up the fagots and crackling and whistling through the night. It's magic that the moon makes its way around the world every day. We live in a magical, wonderful world; everything is a miracle, and even if there is reason as to how they happen that does not mean that they are not miraculous. God made the world a wonderful, magical place, full of odd unnecessary beauties.

Take it in.

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