Just Add Magic
When was the last time you wished you had magical solutions to your problems? We’re all guilty of hoping that the answers of a difficult test came magically to us. We all wish we could go back in time to fix a mistake or elongate time. I know I do.
Magic has intrigued the human race since time immemorial. From sorcerers and wizards in ancient folklore, to the infamous witch trials of 1692- 1693, the unreal and fantastical has always attracted humans.
Religion, in a way, plays a part in this. Believing that Jesus Christ was resurrected, for instance, or that Prophet Muhammad had a vision from an angel, or the hundreds of Hindu Gods that give blessings to their devotees. These are all examples of how religion prompts people to believe in something impossible, like resurrecting the dead, or cursing someone to turn into an animal or bird.
Science, of course, came in much later, when humans, intrigued by the mysteries of the universe, began discovering the more logical reasons behind them. For example, the Sun was found to be a great ball of gas, not a God who pulls across the sky in a chariot.
I’ve discussed the importance of stories and fiction in my previous article. Humans have always been gifted with a tweakable and ever-expanding imagination, weaving stories for entertainment, and to explain things they don’t understand, like the birth of the Universe. Some such beliefs become so unshakable that people believe them to be the truth. That is where religion comes in, after all, different people united by their strong belief in who is the Almighty, and who runs the world.
Coming back to magic, however. Magic, be it in the form of cloaked witches with wands and potions, or superheroes with abilities to fly and jump across buildings, has always been a part of our lives. Stories and movies almost always feature magic, and we ardently hope that magic was real, that we could really flourish wooden sticks and get what our hearts desired. From stories, to renowned magicians using their slight of hand, magic is irreplaceable. Yet it isn’t real. Sigh.
But what we fail to realize is that magic is all around us. Yes, you heard that right. We have always heard of medical miracles, or people taking decisions based on their sixth sense, or someone innately having the talent to do something that others find hard. When you say something ( a book, movie or song) is out of this world good, it’s means that they have something special and wonderful about them. Sounds pretty magical to me!
Let’s look at something else, nature. Nature is like clockwork, the Sun rising, the flowers blooming, the rains crashing down to Earth at almost always the exact time they’re supposed to. What controls those things? What is the giant thing that turns the wheels to make the whole world function? God, most people would say. Or you might say that no one knows exactly how or why life evolved, or how nature works. It’s still a Great Mystery. And magic is a big mystery in itself, isn’t it?
What about technology? Science has made immense progress. What’s unimaginable today may very well be the norm of the future. If you could tell someone from the nineteenth century that one day you could hold rectangle like things to your ear and talk to someone millions of miles away, or you could travel from one corner of the world to another in just a day, or you could press a button on a remote control and watch people flash on a screen, talking and walking normally, what would they say? Either that you are crazy, or that what you are saying is like magic. The science of today was the magic of yesterday! And it’s true. The magic of human inquisitiveness , and a thirst for knowledge does lead to magical things.
Just like I said humans have amazing imagination, they also have amazing curiosity. Curiosity prompted doctors and scientists to invent life saving drugs that prolong people’s lives by many years. To the people of old, such medicines are like Elixirs of life. To us, medicines are science, but to a patient, they are like magical potions, saving someone from the clutches of death.
So magic really is around us. We can say that real magic is not in wands or spell books, but in the human brain, in curiosity and new discoveries. Besides, we all love having Harry Potter or Percy Jackson or Spiderman in our lives! So believe in magic, but the kind that comes from having an open mind and being curious to learn new things. Remember that, and you will be well on your way to add some magic to your and other people’s lives!