Encountering Magic

Sometimes walking is an exercise in magic.

I always expect to be surprised when I take a walk, but usually the surprise is seeing a cat perched in a windowsill or someone painting their front door a bright yellow. At the beginning of spring I delighted in all the sidewalk chalk art, and now I notice the gardens, dressed up in new and brightly-colored clothes. 

I always check the Little Free Libraries I pass and am thrilled when I find a book I want to read, like I did recently when I found two Anne Tyler novels I have not yet read. 

One day this week, I saw something I had not seen before.

An arch across the sidewalk. Not a garden arbor like the entrance to my Paris garden, but a big pinkish red blown-up rubber arch, like a half of a gigantic inner tube. A massive beach toy with a unicorn's horn on the top.  

I suppose this was a decoration for a birthday or graduation party, but maybe somebody decided all passersby needed a smile.

Or, I wondered, was this a gateway to a magic kingdom?

If I stood underneath the red glow would fairy dust sprinkle on me? Should I stand there and make a wish or two or three? Would life be different, better once I walked underneath that curve and emerged on the other side? Was this a threshold to dreams of all encompassing love and justice? Was I pilgrim at an unknown portal? 

I had to bow my head in order to pass through, a humbling and reverent pose, and in just one step I was on the other side. No, the sun didn't seem any brighter nor was the sidewalk paved in gold, but somehow I felt lighter, as I continued my walk.

Normally, I take a different return route, but that morning I retraced my steps, like returning from the center of a labyrinth. As I approached the arch once again, I took a deep breath and gave thanks for the magic of unexpected passageways. 

The magic comes in the steps we take once we come to the other side. 

Once home I went up to my garret office and sat in my Girlfriend Chair for morning devotions. I opened to the "Morning Prayer" in a book of prayers by Padraig O Tuoma.
    
               We begin our day alone,
               honoring this life, with all its potentials and possibilities

               We begin our day with trust,
               knowing we are created for loving encounter...

               We make room for the unexpected,
               May we find wisdom and life
               in the unexpected...

               We resolve to live life in its fullness:...
               We will greet God in ordinary and hidden moments.
               We will live the life we are living. 


May we greet the magic of each day. 

An Invitation
Where do you find magic? I would love to know.

NOTE: The "Morning Prayer" is found in Daily Prayer with the Corrymeela Community by Padraig O Tuama. http://www.padraigotuama.com