What's the Magic Word?
It’s only the third week of January and yet I feel like so much has already happened. When I close my eyes and think about this year so far, I see a small bay kissing a white sandy beach. It’s peaceful and yet unknown. The sun shines right through the crystal clear water. Coral and shimmering rocks catch rays from the sun. Air plays with the gentle glide of each wave.
A new language has surfaced here where air and light, water and earth tether noteworthy glints and tiny revealings through sunkissed reflections. It’s playful, yet vast and full of wonder. It’s tangible, yet hard to comprehend unless you find yourself at different vantage points to fully embrace every moment and angle. The depth is both in the open and hidden within.
What looked like clear shallow water and coral so close you could touch it, has become a deep dive into caves and hidden treasure. As I make my way into this year, I can feel my ordinary everyday routine touching glints of enchantment, mystery and inspiration.
And there’s something else. It’s like as I’m looking around at this new place, this new year, I’m fully aware that every breath I take defines the journey ahead. What I say and think defines what I see around me.
If I release a breath of awe, it feels like wonder. As I speak curious words that ask questions, clues and riddles fill the gaps in my path. If I sigh a breath of weight and dread, all of a sudden my steps take a heavier stance. Beauty needs the eye of the beholder. The wonder of curiosity pleads the question to be asked. Buried treasure needs a pirate or a thief to believe it’s there.
My words are a reflection of my heart and they affect the way I see and live my life. They’re like ripples into the rest of my actions. I can be surrounded by the most defining moments of my life, but if my words don’t speak hope, I might not see it. If I’m not thankful for the current view in some way, I won’t find rest.
If I’m worried and weighed down by doubt, my heart feels heavier and gravity holds my breath. But if I loosen my grip and release what isn’t mine to say or feel, it’s like a breeze tickles my breath and brings me right back to the beautiful gift that life is. It shows me the steady rhythm of waves, motion, adventure and rest.
It’s like when you’re little and you want passage into the secret garden. Your friend says, “what’s the magic word?” And you know all you have to do is say, “please” to enter. What if all we had to do was say a persistent please to experience some of our most special moments in life? If that really is the magic word, why waste your time saying anything else? Life is worth more than idle behavior and careless words. It’s worth the treasure hunt beginning and looking back on dreams well-lived.
