Magic Lives

In an earlier post I wrote of ordinary miracles...the beauty and perfection that surrounds us each and every day. It seems that sometimes we become so embroiled in the chaos and hectic schedules of everyday life that we forget to recognize the miracles that live in stillness. The magic of life eludes us as we chase the escaping hours of each day in an attempt to finish our "lists". This cactus flower appeared Saturday on a cactus that I have tried so many times to remove from my garden. It was quite amazing to see a cactus flower in the middle of Pennsylvania..the perfect sighting to start what would turn out to be a magical day.

I took (very important word as we often say we do not have the time....sometimes the time must be "taken")...anyways, I "took" the opportunity to relax for a while Saturday afternoon in the cool shade outside our farmhouse. I sat there watching a light wind blow through the flower garden lifting and carrying butterflies on it's gentle current. I felt the coolness of the air on my skin as the tiny hairs on my arm bristled like the slender needles of a pine in the breeze. The air was filled with sweet bird melodies and the hollow "tap,tap,tap" of a woodpecker in the distance. The fragrance of newly mown hay filled my nose as I gazed into the sky. I remarked to my husband how rare it has been to see Baltimore Orioles in our area. We had seen one weeks before, but that had been the first in nearly 4 years. As I spoke the words "Baltimore Oriole", incredibly, one flew over at that very moment as though I had summoned him. We both chuckled at how coincidental that had seemed and went on with our conversation. A short while later when describing that serendipitous occurrence to some guests, I again pointed to upwards and described how an oriole had flown over as I had raised my hand to the sky. Again, on cue, I caught a soaring orange bird in my field of vision and pointed to it as it crossed over our farmhouse. Ok....once is coincidence. But twice is....well, nothing short of magic. Again we all laughed at my good fortune. Convinced that it had been a magical experience, I decided to try my luck yet one more time. I know that you will at this point think that I am telling tall tales, but I swear to you, dear reader, I am no liar....that bird made yet another appearance when spoken of again! Now if I said that it continued to happen, you would think me crazy and my story completely incredulous, so I must say that at that point the phenomenon stopped. Truthfully, however, that Oriole flew overhead each of the three times that I spoke of him.

Perhaps birds are the closest living creatures to angels, I don't know. But I do know that there is so much magic in this world....we just spend most of the time blind to it. To me, the lesson that I learned that afternoon is that I miss far too much magic by allowing myself to be swept along by the busy rhythm of life and the lists that I impose upon myself. Perhaps it was a sign to me that there is so much more than meets the eyes....if we would only fully open them and then take the time to sit quietly and see what is there......the magic of life!