Saturday, October 23, 2010

Where did the magic go?

I sometimes wonder where did the magic go?

I remember not that long ago, believing in the irrational; in that which cannot be seen, held or heard; in that which must be taken on faith alone.

Somewhere out there lived Santa Claus, toiling away in his workshop, making most excellent wooden toys for every good child of the world. Granted, I myself never received a wooden toy for Christmas, nor did I know any child that had.

Not once did I think anything of it, though. I just knew both could exist.

Halloween was a scary time of the year when ghosts and all manner of boogeyman roamed the vacant, darken streets of fall. Just because you couldn't see them, didn't mean they didn't exist. You just knew they did, on faith alone.

David Copperfield once made the Statue of Liberty disappear from it's base on Liberty Island. I saw it happen. How can you not believe when you see it? It was magic.

Magic, superstitions, folklore... The world was an amazing place back then. Somewhere beyond the confides of my home, unicorns galloped, gnomes mined, and I suppose Smurfs lived.

Nothing bad could ever happen in this world of never ending possibilities. I could grow up to be an astronaut or president, or marry a prince and become royalty. Anything and everything was possible.

So when did the magic leave? When did Santa become an alcoholic with a grungy fake beard? When did this huge unknown world become so very small?

The simple answer everyone gives me is, "you grew up!" That is not only a simplistic answer, but a lazy one, to boot. There are millions of grown ups, of adults who still have plenty of magic in their lives. Call it faith of a religious manner or call it conviction. Millions of adults believe in the unseen, the unheard, the untouched.

Age of the individual means nothing when talking about the wonders of life.

So again I ask, where is the magic that once populated my world?

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