Everyday Magic...

The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper. ~ Eden Phillpotts

The death and funeral of the young man I wrote about yesterday has taken me back in time and reminded me of many things I had since forgotten or at least just not thought about in awhile. I remember how exposed and raw to the universe I felt and I am sure anyone who has been through any great tragedy in life knows what I mean by this. You go through almost every emotion you could possibly imagine and seem to weave in and out of all of them. Mostly though I am remembering that really vulnerable feeling of rawness, as if every nerve in your body and fiber of your being is exposed and unprotected. You find yourself saying and doing things so out of your normal character. It's as if you've just landed on a foreign planet but everyone knows you there. My senses became so much keener and I found myself searching for signs in everything and everyone. I was really listening for the voice of God to explain things to me but mostly just to comfort me and give me some relief from the overwhelming grief I felt and I can honestly say that I did find that on many occasions. As the days, weeks and months began to pass by, the rawness wore off a bit of course but I was still so much more aware of those little subtleties that gave me a sense of oneness with God and opened my eyes to the magic and wonder of my little corner of the world. I found comfort in a bird singing outside my window or a sunbeam shining down through the clouds as if Heaven lay just on the other side. I began paying attention to dates on coins I would find someplace and that is something I have not stopped doing to this day. It seems I'm always finding a coin in an odd place and feel compelled to check the date. I always try to relate the year to something of significance in my life and it is never difficult to do. I often find some sort of odd comfort in it. When my little Dachshund and constant companion of 14 years passed on last Fall, I was devastated. The day after she died, I saw a penny in a strange place....my heart began to flutter as I bent to pick it up and when I saw the date, I was overcome with emotion as that old familiar comfort swept over me once more. It was dated 1995, the year my little furball came into my life. Coincidence? Maybe....but I don't think so. I believe God speaks to us in so many ways, in so many tiny little everyday things. We just have to keep our hearts, minds, ears and eyes open in order to see them, to hear them, to experience the magic that is always in our midst....