CONNECT: December 23, 2013

Magical Doesn't Always Require Magic

I was having writer's block.  It was time for me to sit down and write the weekly communication and I wasn't sure what to write.  The week has been a blur with so much planned and even more actually taking place, something that most can relate to this time of year.  There were certainly a few paragraphs in there, but nothing inspired.  I could go with a "year in review;” there is a TON that could be covered there, but it wasn't flowing out all that well, so I decided to close the laptop and get a run in - nothing quite like hard exertion to clear the mind.  It was crisp but not bitterly cold and it was a loop I've run countless times so my mind wandered.

I got back from the run tired, but in a refreshed way and checked my email. I saw a note from a friend who is one of the few folks I know who can consistently make a story magical (you're a good man Steve).  He wished me well and then shared a story - an absolute classic about Christmas memories ranging from his own 5th grade with his Dad all the way through moments when he was the dad in the story; moments beyond happy memories, all the way to magical moments. It made me think of a conversation I witnessed between my 9 year old and a friend the day before as I drove them to the activity of the day.  They were groaning about how slowly the week had been going and how they COULDN'T WAIT until school was out on Friday. To them it was like time was standing still. They talked excitedly about what was "on their list".  It made me smile - purely magical for them, no other way to describe it.

I found myself thinking back to a super-cool "miracle" that the people from WestJet pulled off.  They captured it on video HERE (http://youtu.be/zIEIvi2MuEk) .  What was so cool to me was the pure joy on the faces of not only the people who "got" the miracle, but those who pulled it off too.  Magical.

I hope it's been a great year for you.  I hope your family, friends and loved ones are well. Most of all I hope, whether this next week entails a religious celebration for you or not, that you let yourself get wrapped up in it all; that you take a minute to let it be magical, whether through memories-shared or along with friends that you allow yourself to experience it like a little kid again because when you do that, it might just be magical or as my buddy Steve says:

"with the love and joy of all that Christmas is – a belief in things that for all conventional intelligence cannot be…but are."

Have a great weekend,

Mike E.