It’s so easy to get caught in our day-to-day struggles, drama or to-do-lists. Longing for whatever break might come this weekend or next month “when things have calmed down”. Or maybe you’re the kind of person who, as so many of us are, gets trapped in “if only” this, that or the other, would sort out, then I will finally feel better. But what if we could break down happiness into much smaller pieces with much lesser demands?
I don’t remember where I got this mindfulness technique from but I do now it has helped me tremendously through hard times. Or through any kind of time, really. Moving my focus from the very big picture to the here and now, by collecting magical moments.
I know, I know, it might sound woo-woo or too far fetched but it really isn’t. Bear with me.
First, let’s define magic. Is magic even real? Well, to me, that’s a matter of choice. Either you spend all your time in logical thinking, or, you allow yourself, from time to time, to also dwell in the magical thinking.
I mean, we’re riding a rock floating through the universe in a galaxy with 100 thousand million stars. An average sized star is about 333 000 times larger than our earth! AND, there are about one hundred billion galaxies in the observable universe. Yet, you are here, with your magical presence, right now.
I can’t even grasp those numbers, even if I would try my very best. My solution to this mind dilemma is to simply give up, surrender to the fact that I don’t understand, I won’t understand and I don’t have to. All I have to do, is be here, and now, collecting magical moments.
A magical moment is a deep breath of fresh air, a smile from a stranger, a naked foot in the grass, a warm hand in mine, witnessing a beautiful flower, the feeling of drinking water when I’m thirsty, observing my mind come up with all kinds of interesting fantasies, feeling the feeling of gratitude rush through my body, sitting down my legs are tired, reading something that really resonates, opening my eyes in the morning, feeling the fabric of my comfy sweater, the first bite of my favorite food, the sounds of bird song, getting a sweet text from a friend, creating something that will help someone else, warm water on cold skin, feeling my heart rate go down after a good workout, lighting a candle, opening the door to my home…
I really didn’t plan to write that many examples, but that’s the thing, ones you start observing all the magic in your life, more and more will come to you and you won’t be able to stop.
When I first started collecting magical moments in my day, I would write my magical moments down every evening. Sometimes I would collect them in the notes in my phone during the day. We can rewire our mind, but it does take some persistence, especially in the beginning.
So if this perspective is new to you, be kind as you practice, and start off small. Notice three magical moments in a day, then five, then ten…
Because isn’t it so, we can spend our whole lives striving for things to be perfect, only to realize they almost always were.
With all my love,
Helena