Remember the Magic
Adults follow paths. Children explore. Adults are content to walk the same way, hundreds of times, or thousands; perhaps it never occurs to adults to step off the paths, to creep beneath rhododendrons, to find the spaces between fences.
— Neil Gaiman
As we grow older, the world often narrows, our once-wide eyes adjusting to the confines of routine, logic, and the well-worn paths of predictability. We lose the curiosity and courage that once urged us to step beyond the obvious, to explore the unknown with wonder and delight. Adults settle into familiar grooves, finding comfort in what is known, while the adventurous spirit of childhood quietly recedes, tucked away beneath layers of responsibility, expectation, and the desire for certainty.
Children, in contrast, engage with the world in a way that is immediate, raw, and alive. They wander with tender hearts, unguarded and open, sensing the hidden dimensions of life that whisper beneath the surface of things. Their play is not just frivolity but a deep communion with the living world — a dialogue with the unseen forces, the untold stories, and the mythic magic that imbues the everyday with wonder. Children are attuned to the subtle hum of creation, discovering meanings that lie beyond the rigid lines of logic and the known.
Perhaps it’s not that adults forget how to wander and wonder, but that they need reminding. Reminding that the world is still wide and wild, waiting for us to reawaken our sense of curiosity and awe. Beneath the layers of busyness and practicality, the heart retains its capacity to be touched by the mythic pulse of Life. The Holy Other — the sacred, mysterious essence of the world — still calls to us, inviting us into a meaningful dialogue with all that is alive and vibrant.
We need only to remember that the paths we walk are not the only way, that beneath every familiar rhythm lies a wild, untamed song waiting to be heard. And in this remembering, we rekindle our ability to touch the world with our presence, to open our hearts to the richness that exists beyond the surface, and to meet Life with the same wide-eyed wonder we knew as children. Through this act of remembering, we restore our connection to the deeper currents of existence, allowing the sacred to slip through the cracks of our well-laid plans, reminding us that the magic never left — it was simply waiting for us to notice.