Magic Lost | Magic Found

Depression robs you of many things: self-esteem, joy, mental focus, motivation to mention just a few. But the thing that saddens me the most, is how it feels like all the "magic" has up and gone out of your life. In the book I'm currently reading by Chris Bohjalian, one of the characters says, "I have lived a life with magic and without magic, and I can tell you with certainty that a life with magic is better..." And oh, how it is! As depression descends and envelops everything in it's wake, it snatches away more and more of the magical moments. An invisible barrier seems to appear uninvited around my heart, deflecting the love and magic that attempts to get near. Suddenly, when I'm out in nature, my eyes acknowledge and appreciate the beauty, but it fails to move me as it normally would.

Except that is, in especially powerful magical places. There are places, in my experience, that have the power to transcend even the deepest darkness and penetrate way down into the soul. In these places, I feel a hushed and secret presence that whispers, "It's OK - you're not alone - we're still here". I know that I'm experiencing something that goes beyond my human senses, and it's OK if I can't label or understand it. It's enough to simply be with it and experience it in the moment. I feel a sense of reverence and it's the closest I come to experiencing the divine: a belief in what cannot be seen. These magical places, these magical moments sustain me through the darkness. They are gifts. I share these gifts, because maybe, just maybe, even through a photograph they can touch someone else's soul with their magical power.

PHOTO: MAGIC IS AFOOT

“I do believe in an everyday sort of magic --

the inexplicable connectedness we sometimes experience

with places, people, works of art and the like;

the eerie appropriateness of moments of synchronicity;

the whispered voice, the hidden presence, when we think we're alone.” ~ Charles de Lint

PHOTO: QUIET WONDERS

"Some moments require us to just stop what we're doing And breathe in the Wonder ..." ~ Michael Traveler