Finding Magic in Everyday Life

Spoken word version

In the spring of 2013, I stumbled into the most powerful bit of magic I have ever known. Ever since I can remember, I’ve searched for ways to find magic in everyday life. I’ve dabbled in all sorts of metaphysical concepts, from reading tarot cards to practicing mindfulness. But on this particular day, all my seeking would coalesce in a singular moment, leaving me forever changed.

In the early fall of 2012, I was likely the most physically fit I’ve ever been. My best friend had signed us up for a Tough Mudder race in Lake Tahoe. If you don’t know what that is, it’s a 12 mile obstacle course out in the woods designed by special forces types. It’s created for people who want to push their physical and mental limits. It’s also built around teamwork and camaraderie, which makes it a lot of fun.

In anticipation of all we’d have to navigate, I‘d trained hard and it paid off. On race day, my body effortlessly carried me through the experience. It was truly one of the most fun days of my life!

So now fast forward to the following spring; I’m out on a trail run near my house with a different group of friends, and I’m bringing up the rear. Barely into the first mile, my legs feel like lead, my breathing is labored, and I’m wondering what the hell has happened to my fun and fit body that ran this same five mile route dozens of times while I trained for that Tough Mudder race?

To put it lightly, I’m not having fun.

As I’m trudging along the trail, staring at my shoes as they drag across the dirt in what seems like slow motion, I’m listening to this internal dialogue utter a litany of reasons as to why and how I’m failing.

As I’m trudging along the trail, staring at my shoes as they drag across the dirt in what seems like slow motion, I’m listening to this internal dialogue utter a litany of reasons as to why and how I’m failing. It’s saying things like;

“Look at you, you’re so out of shape!”

“You’re never going to catch up to them!”

“Last year you ran this route like it was nothing. It’s going to take you forever to get back to that level of fitness.”

“You are lame for being so lazy and allowing this to happen.”

On and on it went.

And then, all of the sudden, I hear a different voice interrupt, “What if you notice what’s good right now?”

It was like that moment when you hear a needle scratch across a vinyl record. It really caught my attention. And I was like, “Oh yea….being grateful, hmmmm….”

I had a daily gratitude practice during this time, which I would use to help start my day off on a positive note. It was pretty simple really; each morning while sipping my coffee, I’d write down 10 things I’m grateful for.

I had a daily gratitude practice during this time, which I would use to help start my day off on a positive note. It was pretty simple really; each morning while sipping my coffee, I’d write down 10 things I’m grateful for.

I decide to listen to “the nicer voice.” I lift my head, look around, and begin to internally enumerate all that’s good about the moment.

“I’m grateful for this amazing spring day,” the grass on the hills was green and lush, there were wild flowers popping up here and there, and the breeze felt like a delightful warm kiss on my skin.

“I’m grateful that I have a group of friends I can run around outside with,”

“I’m grateful for my strong healthy body and it’s ability to carry me along this trail.”

Pretty quickly, I notice I’m feeling more connected to nature and my friends, and decide to allow myself to enjoy the run, no matter how I perform.

Not long after, I catch up with buddies and we chat and joke about different things for the remaining four miles on the trail.

When we finish, our time keeper, Aldrich, notes our time at 1 hour 10 minutes. And I say, “Wait, what?!? Are you SURE??”

He says, “Yea, I set my timer when we started. See,…” — he holds up his phone showing our total time. One hour, ten minutes.

I couldn’t believe it! My average time running that trail when I was in what I considered ‘good shape’ was 1-hour 15-minutes. We’d finished a full five minutes FASTER than my “in-shape” average!

I couldn’t believe it! My average time running that trail when I was in what I considered ‘good shape’ was 1-hour 15-minutes. We’d finished a full five minutes FASTER than my “in-shape” average!

After that first mile, I hadn’t struggled a single bit, I just had fun!

In that moment, I saw how all the times I had struggled while running that trail in the past were for absolutely nothing. It was all in my head!!

My next thought was this sort of gestalt around all the other places I tend to find struggle in my life. What if I could just choose to be present, enjoy my experiences and have things work out BETTER than when I’m ‘pushing’ or criticizing myself?

That, my friends, would be pure magic!

Blog Post Author:

April Bell is a Professional Personal Historian and founder at Tree of Life Legacies. She has been operating her storytelling and wisdom keeping project in the San Francisco Bay Area and across the United States since 2008. April utilizes her innate skills as an active listener to connect with others and draw out their stories and authentic, heartfelt values to be preserved and shared for generations to come. Her clients include individuals, families and organizations who value the power of story. In an effort to provide the gift of video storytelling to the world at large via a simple, fun and easy to use tool, she and her business partner, iPhone app coder Urs Brauchli, released StoryCatcher® for iPhone. Available on the Apple App Store.