Do You Believe In Magic?

from Jacqueline

My cousin Gillian once said, “Oh, you Winspears, you’re all a bit fey.” Fey has several definitions, but the one she meant (I hope), was “otherworldly” or even “unconventional.” I think she made the comment because we, us Winspears, have a closer relationship than most to what might be termed, “that which cannot be explained.” And when she said “Winspears” I think she meant everyone but my dad, who – thank heavens for my mother, my brother and me – has his feet firmly planted on the ground, apart from a lingering desire to see a UFO and have everyone believe him. You see, not to put too fine a point on it, we believe in magic.



We like the fact that mysteries exist – and I don’t mean simply the ones that rise up from the well of creativity here at Naked Authors, though they are part of the blend. No, we believe in miracles, in serendipity, in wishing on shooting stars and hearing a song on the whistling wind. (This is great, I can imagine my mother reading this post and saying to my Dad, “You’ll never guess what she’s written about us now !”)



I love myths and legends, I love magical stories. There always seems to be something in such stories that speaks to the resilience and power of the human spirit, and people respond to those stories even though they might not know what touched them. For that reason, I loved Stardust, The Golden Compass and The Chronicles of Narnia. And as of last weekend, I have fallen in love with The Water Horse, which is why I started thinking about magical thinking.



If you haven’t seen this movie – and much of it went straight over the heads of the children watching – it is all about the human spirit, all about magic, all about mystery, myth and the connection between humans and other beings. And with the Second World War as a backdrop, it made you wish that magic was like fairy dust and could be liberally spread across the earth so that every day is a bit better than yesterday, for everyone.




But despite being “fey” I know I can also be a cynic, can be opinionated, angry, upset, especially when faced with many of the issues we write about here – from kids being abused, to death by oil-related war, to our disrespect for our planet, parents who struggle against all odds to do the best for their families ... you know what I’m talking about, you’ve read our columns. So every now and again, I remind myself to believe in magic, to allow the mystery to exist and to believe in the triumph of the very best of our humanity. It may not be chicken soup for the soul, but it keeps out the chill that wafts from people and places that seem to have been abandoned by miracles, magic and hope. Or maybe they abandoned them first.




PS: I am not about to trade in my Volvo for a broomstick, though I think it would be really cool to have a wand. Think of what Naked Authors could do if we were all issued with our own wands. Now, if you had your own magic wand, what would you do?