The Very Illusory Idea of What Is Magical

Food For Thought - Magic

As a 20-something in today’s day and age, I move around rather frequently. It was all fun at first, with Disney’s Aladdin soundtrack of “A Whole New World” set on replay. But when I realised well, there’s no magic carpet, just 8 hour back to back flights of try hard, below average food and sitting still in a 17.2” by 31” wide seat pitch space, it was pretty disheartening.

See, I have realised that I am not so much the #wanderlust or the #forevertraveller, but more of the “Wait… – I have to go all the way there, to do all these wonderful, magical things.” Yes, I do sometimes lack the patience or the efficiency to manage my time, but I believe my frustrations run deeper.

Has the world become a smaller place? When you think about it, the world indeed does feel smaller. If you have the available finances and convenience of transport, happening upon a holiday villa in an alcove of Europe or visiting a friend on a whim in a different continent is more than plausible. And some might fairly argue that air travel will or in some places have become commonplace.

But this begs the question – doesn’t that make the world so much bigger as well? For instance, now that all this magic is within your reach, you are open to options that were never previously conceivable, even to your parents. People who are probably the closest to you (especially if you are living with them), who by no fault of their own, just do not have the tools and experience to give you appropriate, sound advice just because they were part of a completely different society. That being said, while being incredibly wonderful and magical, things can definitely get overwhelming very very fast.

Hence, with this constant drive to see more, I think, “experiencing new things”, which is inherently extremely beneficial, has become an unnecessary obsession that we tend to forget the little things – the little magic around us. It then becomes easy to assume that if you are not part of the traveling game, you are out of the real life game.

But the truth is you are not. You are not out of anything. Whether you are one to travel or settle down, there is so much magic in and around you that you can and must engage with. So seize the day boys (and girls), don’t let the day and world seize you.

 

Lazareen Moses

Lazareen is a dreamer and a fan of science. She believes that there is no such thing as being in one state all the time, and as the world changes so do our views on life. She is a student of world knowledge and tries her best to improve all her current skills, and along the way, if possible, to pick up new ones she could never imagine possible. Her life motto is carpe diem.

45 Comments

  1. Most young people say…20s something dreams to be a traveller. It was fun and the most adventurous things to do in their eyes. Not many knows the hardship during the travelling time. Say…suddenly flight delay for many hours and getting sick due to eat the wrong things at foreign land?

    • Hi Cindyrina,

      Yes that’s very true. Often times people tend to neglect the journey and have high expectations about the destination, without being appropriately informed regarding either one.

  2. love the enthusiasm in your post. Let’s all seize the day! and make it magical 😀

  3. I think it depends on what you’re looking for in the world, and what your purpose in life. Im stuck in my 20’s too, but i believe in knowing what I’m doing. As long as i know what i want, i’ll make my way to make it happen. Great read on your thoughts btw. 🙂

    • Hi Aliza,

      Thanks for the engaging feedback! You are indeed right. It is a great skill to stick to your purpose and know your want(s). This could very well include traveling.

  4. A whole new world is one of my favourite Disney songs!! I agree with your post. There is magic in every aspect and second of our lives but it is up to us to seize that moment and make our life more meaningful and magical!

    xoxo
    Miriam

    • Hi Miriam,

      Glad to hear from a fellow Disney fan! Can’t lie, that song is still stuck on replay haha. And indeed, a meaningful, magical life is all one truly needs. xx

  5. Everytime need to read few times on what you wrote 😀
    Yeah, true. Life is unexpected and once you missed the chance you will never got it back. So for me right, I will do whatever I want to do (of cos think before and after you do it*), so that you left no regrets behind! 😛

    • Hi Jacqueline,

      That’s great. Everything written here is food for thought – the longer you think about it the better. Yes always appreciate the little moments, the little things, the little magic.

  6. Your blog make me feel awesome with you! You always be creative when you write a very beautiful post with your style of writing…!

    • Hi Selina,

      This is actually my first time contributing to this blog. Happy you like it though and keep reading!

  7. Seize the day! Yay I agree! I guess while we are still young, there are a lot more opportunities that will come in our way. I guess do it now, or never. 😛 Once commitment sets in, it’s rather difficult to juggle between commitments and following your dreams eh?

    • Hi Renae,

      Well as they say, age is just a number. And although true it is difficult to juggle many things at once (for both the younger and the older), setting in place commitments can be magical as well, if that particular commitment is your dream.

  8. Your writing really impressive. It seems to give me a really deep thought after reading.

  9. Awesome insight. Truly one of the more thought provoking things I’ve read today. It is very easy to forget the little magic around us, simply because there is no reminder. Everything became so easy and accessible that we take these magic for granted. If we’re not doing something bigger, then what is the purpose of life? I’m definitely guilty of this. Thanks for the gentle reminder and have a good good day 😀

    • Hi Angelynn,

      Really glad you enjoyed it. Don’t worry you’re not the only one – we all take things for granted sometimes. But everyday is a new day and I hope you’re having a great one!

  10. Nothing comes easy…. All the dreams, will only comes true with certain level of hard work, i suppose… hmm..

    • Hi Kylie,

      Yes you’re right – hard work is definitely crucial when you’re chasing your dreams. Just keep in mind what you’re working for!

  11. at my age, most things are already restricted.well it wasn’t about my age, its about my current status as a wife to one and a mom to two.if i could be young and single again, i would not hesitate to travel a lot.and i mean a lot.i still want to to travel later when things are stable.so, go out there and enjoy your journey!

    • Hi Salma,

      Haha you don’t necessarily have to be young and single to travel. But I understand what you mean. We all have different daily priorities to fulfill. And I’m sure your family is lovely! Wishing you the best in anything you pursue.

  12. For me it’s never about where I gotta be, but who i am with.. wherever it is, you can still create the magic if you just open your eyes to see it.

    • Hi Leona,

      Happy you mentioned that. People we’re with indeed can fuel the magic within and around us.

  13. Such a great read in the morning hehe! Really admire you with all these wonderful meaning words and writing. Its true that we often blame and forget little magic, little happiness in life and makes our problem looks bigger the way it is. But I always try to remember the whole magical thingy that we are here for every purpose in life. There’s no way the world and the day can seize me!

    • Hi Sharon,

      I’m extremely pleased to hear that! Really appreciate the kind comments. It is certainly healthy to have a wholesome perspective on life. Hope you have a great day “seizing it”! xx

  14. “There is so much magic in and around you”… good advice. Sometimes, what u r running around chasing and looking is just right under your nose.

    • Hi Dr Frank,

      Yes often times we just need a fresh perspective of our environment. Glad you liked it.

  15. Moving around during young age is great. I did my first backpacking right after my university time at UK.

  16. Short post but right to the point. Magical things can happened everyday without us knowing it. Sometimes we just need to slow down everything, then we can start to notice lots of magical things happening around. 🙂
    Btw travelling long term makes me feels magical all the time despite the hardship I been through, haha

    • Hi Jun Jie,

      Thank you for that. You’re right – we all need to stop and smell the roses sometimes.
      Also good to hear that you’re a happy traveller. I’m truly impressed by people like you!

  17. Cara, great article. 2 important streams of thought jumped out at me when reading. One is why we travel and the consequences of a skewed view, and the other is a-taken-for-granted notion that the world is getting smaller.
    On the first point, we tend to put all our emotional eggs in the basket of travel. We expect a lot from the experience, mostly unconsciously, and as you point out, we forget about the experience of the present – we delay resolution of needs in the life game and postpone them to be cured in the scheduled holiday. The other is the availability of choice in the world, that makes our world not smaller but much much bigger.
    Its easy to forget these things. Thanks for the reminder!

    • Hi Jay,

      Yes you summed up the gist of the article very well.
      We often unconsciously expect travel to fill our emotional longings leading us to under appreciate our current well state. I think that is a lot to do with media and propaganda.
      Also true – although we definitely have more freedom of choice in this day and age, it can be both a privilege and a detriment.
      Thank you for the engaging feedback! It’s truly a pleasure.

  18. How do you overcome feelings of impatience or inefficiency in managing time so that frustration doesn’t deepen?

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