According to Carl Jung, you can tell a lot about yourself by your favorite stories as a child. Mine was most definitely Aladdin (modern interpretation: favorite movie you watched every day as a child). There were two things I loved most about it: one is that magic was real, and the second was that the underdog won out in the end. The whole princess bit was lost on me (surprise surprise), but Abu, the Magic Carpet, Genie, and of course Aladdin, were totally my jam.
It’s funny because it’s still pretty true. I definitely do still believe in magic, but I think over time, the source of magic has changed. In the beginning, magic manifested itself as oh wow, this homework assignment that was due today (which I didn’t do) somehow got moved to next week, Yay! Later it became, wow I somehow have enough money to cover rent AND buy food, YAY! Even later it was, wow somehow I haven’t run this company into the ground, HURRAH!
But recently, I’ve been thinking that maybe that’s the wrong way of looking at magic. I mean, procrastination, fiscal (ir)responsibility, and sheer hard work to make up for all the things you don’t know isn’t exactly magic- it’s more…it is what it is. Those are actual things in your own control, and doing the best you can to control those outcomes is called being smart. And having them work out (or not) isn’t really magic either- that’s just called life.
So back to square one: where is all the magic in the world? Well, I think it’s actually in the places we least expect it. It’s the tiny things that we take for granted that, if you put all together, is actually quite magical. My roommates dog Charlie is the cutest thing ever, I forgot how much I love him, that rascal. I recently took a road trip with some friends through Kashmir: the landscape is amazing. Mind blowing really. How does that even EXIST? Have you thought about the number of books in the world? It’s like time travel, but cheaper and more doable! THE HUMAN BODY. It’s insane. THERE ARE LITTLE PEOPLE THAT GROW INSIDE YOU. Human communication as it has evolved over the centuries. THE INTERNET.
I think this video sums it up the best.
Everything is amazing, I think we should all be happy.
Magic is real people. I think we just need to know where to look for it.
So I Quit My Job and Moved to India 