Do you believe in magic?
I do.
It’s all around us and the older we get, the more difficult it becomes to notice it.
I’ve realised with every journey around the sun, time seems to be passing by faster and weeks can go by without even realising. I’m not alone in this notion, with scientists even working to understand why our perception of time increases as our age does.
As children, we’re learning so much everyday, not just at school, but in life. We’re overwhelmed and amazed by puddles, a cat in a window or going for a drive; things that as we get older, seem mundane and unimportant.
My biggest fear, before the dark, paranormal activity and UFOs, is getting to the end of my life and having regrets. And if you’ve read my blog before, you’ll know when I was 15-years-old I wrote a bucket list as insurance against that regret ever coming true.
Last month, I was able to tick another item off the list: A White Christmas.
Despite the doubt we received from many who advised Christmas was too early to get a decent amount of snow, Florian and I did our research and decided the French Alps would be our best hope.
We booked the cutest little chalet in Les Houches, a small community just outside Chamonix for four nights in hopes I’d be able to see snow fall for the first time.
We arrived and saw snow sleeping above the mountain tops, but it was isolated to places much higher, and unreachable, to where we were.
I decided at that moment that I wouldn’t put all my hopes into seeing snow fall and to just appreciate the beauty that was the alps, rather than letting it spoil our trip.
On Christmas Eve, Florian and I decided to try our luck at a hike and a couple of hundred metres in, it started to rain. I wondered if we waited long enough would it would turn to snow, but alas, it was just good ol’ fashioned rain.
We hopped back in the car, Florian not too pleased with out failed attempt at a hike, he decided to drive up the mountain in hopes the drop in temperature would transform the rain to snow- and he was right!
Just before the entrance to the Mont Blanc tunnel, we pulled over next to a park to get our bearings and right at that moment, it started.
I jumped out of the car and threw my hands in the air trying to catch every snowflake. It was the most incredible experience I’ve ever had.
The flakes got fatter and heavier and falling as far as I could see in every direction.
Sure it can be easily explained by science, but to me, it was magic.
Totally overwhelmed with happiness and wonder and awe, I began to cry as I ran through the park twirling in the powder that descended upon us.
It snowed continuously for the next 24 hours and we welcomed Christmas morning with our chalet blanketed in snow.
When was the last time you felt so overwhelmed by happiness?
A moment you couldn’t explain and could only put it down to magic?
We know 2020 wasn’t the best year, but the magic people created from such darkness was so inspiring to me.
One of my best friends got engaged, another married, one bought a campervan and is road tripping around Australia and another pregnant.
I said to Florian there is nothing else in life quite like experiencing something for the first time. Like you’re the first person to uncover the mystery of the universe. Whether it be seeing snow for the first time or scuba diving, eating a slice of pizza in Rome, viewing a breathtaking piece of art or kayaking on Sydney Harbour, those moments truly are one-of-a-kind.
The magic in life is what we miss when we’re too busy living rather than slowing down and taking stock of what’s around.
Maybe all you need to do is believe it’s there to be able to see it again.
Because as Roald Dahl once said:
And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.
-tgfs x