“It’s always the chance word, unthinking
gesture that unlocks the face before you.
Reveals the intricate countries
deep within the eyes. The hidden
lives, like sudden miracles,
that breathe there.“
From the poem Common Magic by Bronwen Wallace. (Full text can be found here)
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When you hear the word magic what do you think of?
For me, an image of a man dressed in a fancy tuxedo waving around a wand and pulling white rabbits out of his top hat pops to mind. At least that’s what I initially thought as I read Common Magic in English class. However, I quickly understood that there was none of the mystery and grandeur that we usually associate with “magic.” Instead, the poem took the reader along a journey throughout a city, examining and analyzing its inhabitants. What’s so magical about that?
The magic comes realizing that common, everyday individuals all have a unique story to tell. In other words, it’s discovering the magic within the mundane. I’ve written about Humans of New York before, but I always find myself being drawn back like a magnet. It’s just such a compelling concept to interview strangers, share it with the public, and see how people can relate to their stories. In this seemingly chaotic and random world, it is magical to realize that there are invisible threads that tie us all together.
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We will only be able to physically see the world from our eyes, but that’s okay. It’s such a mind-boggling thing to realize that every single individual you encounter is going through a life as vivid as your own. The person you see peering wistfully out the window of the C-Train, they might be thinking of their significant other. Maybe the student you see walking languidly down the hallway is having troubles at home. In any case, it makes you wonder how we all live in our own little universe, but that we still coexist in this collective place we call civilization.
You are unlikely to see wildlife in a forest while driving in a car, it is only when you explore on foot that you understand the wealth and abundance it holds. Similarly, you have to escape the unrelenting routine of life and just stop. Stop to examine the environment around you. When you do, you start to notice things that you normally ignore. It is feeling the gentle breeze rustle your clothing and glide along your face. It is seeing a bird streak across the brilliant blue sky. It is smelling the earthy scent in the air after the spring rain. It’s not just with nature either, it’s with humans too.
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Humans are like onions. You have to peel back the many layers in order to get to the core of who someone is. While you can learn a lot from passively observing the body language of others, it’s exciting to get to know a person on a deeper level. That’s why interviews are one of my favorite pieces of writing to read. It’s like cracking open a nice book and seeing all the complex beauty that lay in its pages. Questions such as: Who inspires you? What are you passionate about? How have you overcome the difficulties in your life? These allow the reader to get a sense of what this person is like even if they’ve never met.
On a related note, this was my first year being on the Youth of Distinction Awards (YODA) committee and I was surprised to hear the many stories that came in. Although I cannot disclose details, I certainly felt a rollercoaster of emotions as we went through the nominations. There were tales of hope in the face of tragedy, of giving time to those less fortunate, of spearheading initiatives and bringing about change within their community, and much more. The lasting impression that it left on me is that everyone has their own struggles, dreams and the ability to reach their true potential.
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I have been fascinated with sparklers ever since I was a kid. You may have noticed that I used sparklers to portray the idea of common magic. The way they crackle and explode like a mini firework in your hand, it’s mesmerizing. It shows how you don’t need to fall down a rabbit hole or venture into a magical wardrobe, when there is magic all around us waiting to be found.
I would like to leave off with a quote from Roald Dahl:
DFTBA! (Don’t Forget To Be Awesome!)