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Can I level with you?

Let’s call this a safe space and get down to an essential truth that I don’t always share: I believe in faeries.

I believe in mermaids and unicorns and Santa Claus. I believe in possibility and magic, and I’m sure my acceptance letter to Hogwarts just got lost in the mail, perhaps dropped by an owl into a dark hole in space and time. And, any day now, the TARDIS will appear for me, and I’ll explore whole worlds that I never dreamed existed.

But, the truth is that I hold a soft spot in my heart for magical beliefs of all kinds.

Hey, you probably do it, too. Maybe you don’t step on cracks in the sidewalk or refuse to walk under ladders. Maybe you’re leery of black cats and don’t particularly love Friday the 13th. I know people who will buy an extra item at the store if the total comes up to $6.66.

There are superstitions, and then there are religious beliefs that incorporate an element of magic and call it miracles.

Recently, there’s been a resurgence of this in popular culture. Of course, Harry Potter brought magic back to us in a way that felt beautiful and real and powerful. Those of us who read the books and saw the movies truly loved the stories and the element of magic that they brought into our lives. Is it fiction and fantasy? Sure, it is.

But I’ve also noticed a rise in people identifying with mermaids and unicorns, too. There’s a whole world of merchandise for those who love either of these things. I have a mermaid tumbler that I carry around, and I’m legitimately getting a unicorn cake on my next birthday (I’m in my mid-30s). At Christmas, Santa Claus brought me a mermaid-tail blanket, and last summer I made a faerie cottage at Little Rose Nature School in Watkinsville, Georgia, to put in my garden. When I was visiting Florence, Alabama, I noticed faerie doors hidden all over the downtown area.

People just love magic; it’s not just me.

Who hasn’t been fascinated by the idea of magic or watched spellbound as an illusionist showed us a trick?

So much of our lives are filled with basic living routines. We have to sustain ourselves, and so we work. We wash dishes. We grocery shop and cook food. We pay bills, and we clean our houses. Who wouldn’t love to twitch our noses and get some of the boring tasks out of the way?

This is what I’m taking from this resurgence of magical culture: It’s important that we learn to be mindful even in the routine tasks that make up our day-to-day lives, and we need to learn to be attuned to the magic in our everyday lives.

Mindfulness

We can actually make things like washing the dishes or doing the laundry a mindful meditation. We can clear our minds and allow ourselves to be fully immersed in the sensory experience. The things we have to do—our chores, if you will—don’t have to be boring or difficult. We can learn to become mindful of this part of our lives instead of wishing our time away, and we can allow these tasks to be enriched with the mindfulness we bring to them.

Everyday Magic

Look, magic is everywhere. Maybe I don’t see faeries when I’m walking my children to school. Maybe I didn’t see a unicorn dart through the woods on my way home. Maybe there aren’t mermaids in the ocean or elves hiding my keys when I can’t find them.

But, I went for a walk the other day, and everywhere I went, I saw heart shapes in nature. I felt like the Universe was telling me I am loved. It made my heart happy. And if I pay close attention, I can see magic all around me in the world: Flowers that bloom where we least expect them. The look on my daughter’s face when I reach over and take her hand. My son laughing even in his sleep. Touching the hand of my significant other and feeling the connection. Seeing fireflies at night and rainbows overhead.

Someone, somewhere, wants to dispute this as science or nature or something perfectly normal. If that’s what you believe, that’s okay. But, I believe in magic.

I believe in connections and things that make us feel better about each other and the world we’re living in. I believe that sometimes the belief itself is what’s important and that it’s okay to live a life that’s filled with magic and beauty and recognize the extraordinary where some people see the ordinary.

And in a Pinterest-filled world of mermaids, unicorns, dragons, and wizards, I know that I’m not alone. Let’s seize the magic and live magically awesome lives right now.

If you need me, I’ll be off being a mermaid.

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Author: Crystal Jackson
Image: YouTube
Editor: Leah Sugerman
Copy Editor: Sara Kärpänen
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