I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions. I didn’t see the point. Not that they’re often not followed through but because if you want to set a goal or pursue a dream or make a promise to yourself, why wait for the first day of the year to do it? But this year, as I sat, tired, sleepy, and already missing people I care about in a crowded terminal in Manila’s International airport, I saw the sun set on January 1st and a resolution came to mind:
In rare moments when magic looks you in the eye, stare right back; don’t blink, don’t flinch, don’t shy away.
How often have I not glimpsed momentary displays of beauty simply because I kept my “sunglasses” on? How many split second opportunities for spontaneous laughter have I foregone because I had “headphones” on? What magical moments have I missed by looking away when I should’ve stared right back?
Beauty, butterflies, fireworks, true love, however you want to call them, have a way of being elusive to anyone who is not paying attention or someone who chooses to turn a blind eye at things for fear that they may see something that isn’t really there. Oh the things we do to save ourselves from broken hearts and shattered dreams! Our defenses may protect us from hurts, help us avoid making wrong decisions, and keep bad things from entering our lives; but they also prevent the good ones from coming in. They stop magic from happening.
Those who are not afraid to be stripped bare of their defenses; those who are brave enough to assume things in their favor and act on it; those who are willing to look at things and see them through their own filters regardless of how they really appear; those who are willing to expose their true selves, the skeletons in their closets, and their raw emotions; those who are not afraid to get hurt. There's a chance they will get hurt, have their hearts handed back to them in pieces, and their egos in a box; but they’re also the ones who have a higher chance of finding true love, utter joy, and, yes, magic.
So on that first day of the first month of the year 2019, I told myself to let magic happen. And to be fully present and in the moment every single time it does.
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| Your hand on my shoulder. Magic. ❤️ |
:)
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