I try to center gratitude in my day to day - to appreciate the colors, sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and people that surround me. It’s not just a seasonal Thanksgiving thing. But the act of regularly writing about magic, and the invocation to look for it, has upped my awareness of all the bits and pieces that stoke gratitude.
Last month’s bonus, with its challenges to find a charm, welcome wonder, and follow a rabbit trail led me to build a photo collection of serendipitous moments, and then last week, Sarah Bessey wrote in her Field Notes Substack about a conference experience at which “we all showed up with a bag of scraps and leftovers. And…pieced together our story and the stories of our neighbors, and the story of what God is still up to in this world.” I love that - I have wondered whether the products of my seeking and finding might add up to something. If it’s story, inspiration, something to believe in, or just a series of smiles, I’m good.
What do you make of your magic scraps?
In his book, Steal Like An Artist, Austin Kleon offers up the idea that “you are a mashup of what you let into your life,” and though he says creativity isn’t magic, he only means that it is accessible to everyone. We live in a world of wonder, and the influences we surround ourselves with can open doors and windows, spark new thinking, inspire. Even the smallest smidgeons can become meaningful.
So, today I’m grateful for the serendipity that feeds my soul and awakens my consciousness to the purpose or potential in all the bits and pieces - the experiences, the wonderings, and the finds. Since it’s pretty much impossible for us, in our humanness, to see the ends of our long roads or the ultimate legacies of our efforts, it’s easy to think we’re just going along collecting a puzzle piece here and another there. A lot of the time, those odd pieces convince me that I’m living a “little l” life rather than the “Capital L” version I imagine.
But the incredible gift of living reveals itself in those moments when we fit the pieces together. An author muses, as many of us do, “When will I arrive as a writer?” (Angela Yeh, writing for diyMFA.com) and then realizes while teaching that she’s an “awakener,” that “Writing, reading, and sharing this passion for the absolute magic of the written word” is what it’s all about! An acclaimed doctor (Oliver Sacks) gets a terminal diagnosis and spends his last months connecting the dots of his life to find: “My predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved. I have been given much and I have given something in return. Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and adventure.”
Enjoy piecing together your scraps and leftovers to find the magical wholes along your way. I’m grateful to have company on that journey!
Please consider recommending this newsletter to a friend or colleague - new subscribers automatically receive the bonus Finding Your Creative Magic challenge! And I’m working on more for January! Stay tuned.
Great post, Stephanie--loved the "magic examples" you spotted!
Love this!