I often say…”It is what it is.” And while I say that, in the same breath I also believe that while it it what it is…magic exists. No…not magic with wands and witches…the type of ‘magic’ that makes you want to jump out bed in the morning. Magic that makes you continue to hope. Magic that is why we say ‘I wish.’ Magic that gives you the strength to apologize, learn and move forward. Magic to keep becoming a better version of yourself.

Take the past two weeks and all the magic…

I have woken up to a beautiful sunrise, to a snowy blizzard and to a sun hitting buildings highlighting them in a beautiful manner that stops you to take a picture.

Magic.

I have walked around a city park. Gone for a run…to prove to myself I could do it. Driven my car to pick up a meal to support a local restaurant striving to stay open in the midst of this pandemic. All things I would have taken for granted prior to March/April of this year…and now I think…wow, magic.

There is something about this week…the ‘week of thanks’…one of my favorite holidays…that brings magic to the forefront.

I have connected with a few in the past few weeks I haven’t spoken to in months/years. I have shared smiles with those I never thought I would talk to again…and found grace in those conversations and interactions. I have received candid and honest feedback. I have sat with myself and reflected on actions that I hope to be able to articulate to those I have impacted and give my gratitude of thanks…for allowing me to be intense and misstep all at the same time. Intense…but I am grateful for these moments…of pure magic.

And so…while I say ‘it is what it is’…maybe instead…nothing is what it is…and rather…everything is what you make of it.

In a year of the most intense change, self reflection and trauma I have ever experienced…there has never been more magic…because I was open, vulnerable, willing to let it in. This year, I have chosen to wake up, to move forward, to continue to not be hardened to life, to find hope and to continue to wish…and because of that…I continue to be amazed and realize…I am surrounded by true magic everyday.

The people…the beauty of the places I live in and have seen this year…the experiences I have embraced…the emotion I have allowed my heart to feel…the growth I have experience…the smiles I have shared and felt…

Those who don’t believe in magic…in hope…in wishing…will never find it…because it will always be what it is. Instead…nothing is truly what it is…it is what you make it.

Magic…It is what you make it.

“The secret, Alice…is to surround yourself with people who make your heart smile. It’s then, and only then, that you’ll find Wonderland.”