Gulf News

We all need a little magic in our lives

- FEBY IMTHIAS ■ Feby Imthias is a freelance writer based in Abu Dhabi. Twitter: @Feby_Imthias

Summer is here. It is the balm of the year. It is a time of young people and June roses. It creates feelings of positivity and brightness as summer sets in strongly. The breeze has the aroma of warm and delicious butterscot­ch cake baking in the oven.

Walking in the park asks for a renewed bout of energy as the summer heat conceals you in its cover. The golden hue of the sun kissing the steely face of skyscraper­s renders a divine glow to the surroundin­gs every morning. The magic of life unfolds in the form of a bright fiery red sunrise early on.

Today morning, my glasses took a deep dive from the dressing table to the ice like floor and decided to end its eventful life from the edge of my nose. I was at the mercy of my spare glasses which did not have the rosy pink tint of my erstwhile glasses. My 13-year-old skipped around my work desk, placed a peck on my nose that had the steely spare grey glasses, and said, “Mumma, actually this glass suits you better!” There is magic in little pecks from little girls who build fairy villages on their study table and imagine nonexisten­t slides on the wings of a rainbow splashed on blue skies. Sometimes love is all the magic that you ever need.

The mystical elixir of youth

I have a short name. I talk too fast and far too willingly. People automatica­lly see the childish side. Bluntness has been my second nature. I keep reminding them that I am on the wrong side of age and laugh heartily at their quizzical stares. They dismiss me as if I am a minor seeking to grab attention by either laughing a little longer or talking too much. Every day should be saturated with smiles and laughter. It’s truly said that a smile is a curve that sets everything straight. People who smile a lot somehow magically look younger.

Children are almost always pleasant and in their tiny worlds, virtually anything is possible. They play to the end of their strength and fall asleep suddenly amid their enjoyment and merrymakin­g. Their days are always well spent.

I believe there is magic in babies till they turn 4 or 5. Little elves enter their tiny brains and lace every activity with sparkles of magic dust that they see goodness and delight in everything. That magic is named innocence.

Long back, I read the story of a magic bus in a digest magazine. In an overbooked crowded overnight bus, people who had reserved seats stood up after 2 hours and offered their seats to give the weary standing passengers a gentle respite. One gentle soul started the kind gesture and soon it spread like a chain reaction. Before long every standing passenger got a chance to rest their fatigued feet for a while. The bus suddenly transforme­d into a lit cuboid on wheels and filled their hearts with the light of shared camaraderi­e. Sometimes kindness was all the magic that ever was.

A few days back a Facebook post asked, “Name a trait of your most favourite person.” ‘Understand­ing without words’ was a desired answer. Life would be a gift if such people existed in your life. It could be your partner, parent, sibling, child, or best friend. Think of the innumerabl­e times you failed miserably while trying to explain yourself in a misunderst­anding.

It brings me straight back to Keats, “Heard melodies are fresh, but those unheard are sweeter.” This sort of understand­ing between loved ones is purely magical. Paulo Coelho said, “There is a language that is beyond words. If I can learn to decipher that language without words, I will be able to decipher the world.”

Let’s weave magic into our spells. Let’s make our magic count. We all need a little magic in our lives.

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