Magical Moments—Making Experiences Special
Some moments in life are truly special. You experience them as if in a dream, and you keep them in a sacred place in your heart and your memory. Over time, they may become the stuff of personal legend—the experiences that shaped who you are or had an overwhelming emotional impact. These times might include falling in love—and realizing that love is requited. It might be the birth of a child, when everything else becomes a lower priority. It may be a professional breakthrough when your work starts to make a meaningful impact. Whatever it is, the moment in time can be magical, something outside of the realm of the everyday.
What makes a magical moment
Our lives are made up of individual moments. Some are painful, some monotonous, and others are stressful. Special moments can seem rare. We want magic moments to happen with more frequency, but would that remove their magic? It begs the question, what makes a magical moment so exceptional? My mind immediately focuses on the emotional content of the moment. Positive emotions are always desirable, and the more intense the positive emotion, the more special the moment is.
An example of this is romantic love. At the beginning of a romantic relationship, all the emotions are magnified, both positive and negative. The love is exciting and new. As the relationship evolves, it may become less magical. But that is, to some extent, a choice. If you and your partner are intentional, you can continue to create magic moments all the time.
My Magical Moments
It’s interesting to reflect on my magic moments, as they mainly occurred (as I suspect they did for most) during my formative years. That being said, they were still very impactful to me, and I look back on them fondly. The most memorable will always be requited love—my first girlfriends and the feeling I got when they responded to my attention. I also remember clearly the first few times I played in bands in front of big, enthusiastic crowds, and how that made me feel. The mix of pure joy, excitement, and astonishment in both instances was better than anything I have ever felt. I still experience those feelings periodically, but they seem tempered by life. However, when they happen, they are, to me, still magical.
Revisiting the magic
If you had the ability, would you relive your magic moments? Would you come back in time to relive them, as you would watch a movie over and over? It might seem obvious—of course, I would live in the best moments of my life. But, to me, there are strong reasons not to. The first reason is that a significant factor in why magic moments are magical is that they are new. You’re experiencing something wonderful that you’ve never experienced before. If you go back and relive them, their novel characteristics wouldn’t be present anymore. You might notice negative aspects of the experience that you hadn’t seen in your original sense of wonder. On the other hand, keeping these experiences in your memory allows you to retain those feelings of wonder. Another reason not to relive past magical experiences is that it takes your attention away from new magical experiences, which, with the right outlook, can happen any time.
Creating new magic
As you get older, you may get jaded and think your “glory days” are behind you. This is a cynical perspective that can become a self-fulfilling prophecy if you let it. Magic moments can happen at any time, although it does take intention, open-mindedness, and a willingness to get out of your comfort zone. No one has had so many experiences that there isn’t anything new and wonderful to encounter. It just takes a bit more effort to find them, and, more importantly, perceive them in the right spirit. If you find yourself in a rut, you need to leave—literally and figuratively. Travel will invariably give you new experiences and exposure to unfamiliar languages, foods, and encounters with people that have the potential to be magical. You can also treat your everyday life with a fresh perspective. When you meet someone new, take the time to really get to know them. Try to experience something new and exciting together.
There is magic around you all the time. You have to be open to it and willing to go and get it.
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Artwork by Diganime
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