magical moments

how many magical moments do we get in this life? i mean ones that truly take your breath away and send electric currents through your veins? how many shooting stars? how many blazing sunrises setting over the ocean? lucky us if we get any, and even luckier if we get to share them with someone we love. magical moments can't be contrived, but they can be made more likely by creating space. it takes time to show up, notice them and appreciate what you just got to witness on the planet; time to savor it, maybe put it into words or maybe not. Jesus tells us in so many words to be childlike and i'm trying to take that form of play very seriously. a few days ago, i sprawled out in the backyard and watched the white clouds move across the sky playing the "what shape is it?" game with myself. then i sat and just listened and watched nature all around me for probably over an hour. (disclaimer: i don't actually know how long it was, because i got lost watching and listening, but it was quite a while: those kairos moments that aren't run by chronos timepieces.) what really dazzles me lately is how the cherry blossoms sprinkle down pink. when i hike and walk under an archway and look up to see blossoms falling into my hair i could swear i'm four years old again or caught somehow in a film set for heaven. so go watch a candle burn and don't feel guilty about what you're not getting done. give yourself fully to the rain on the roof until you don't know what time it is. it doesn't have to take long, either. lilacs can be appreciated in sniffs and wafts that take only seconds. but i think my life is better for the waft. i don't have time NOT to notice the beauty or to become part of it for a while. what will your magic be?