Bringing Magic to the Mundane

It’s been a busy month. I’ve been away for a few trips in a row, celebrating life milestones with friends, and taking time away for school holidays.  I’m grateful for all of these get aways. Grateful for chances to catch up and spend quality time together. To bring a little magic into life. To take a break from the mundanity of it all.  I don’t know about you, but life just gets so busy! The time flies by and I realise I haven’t had a conversation with the people who matter the most to me for weeks! Sure we might have been in the same house, but it’s all rushed, superficial interactions. Quick exchanges of information.

The pace of it is all go, go, go. It’s exhausting!

Sometimes, I feel like I’m not cut out for the pace of modern society.

Day in, day out, it feels like the same thing. We’re up at 6, getting breakfast, making lunches, dressing for the day, in the car, rushing off to kindy, school and work. Home after 5pm, and it’s emptying the stuff out of the car, unpacking lunch boxes, emptying the dishwasher, tidying the kitchen from breakfast, getting dinner ready, setting the table, clearing the table, re-stacking the dishwasher. Bedtime routine of showers, stories, and settling to sleep…. kids are in bed. Slump on the couch for an hour of peace and quiet. Maybe do a bit of stretching, if I have the energy to get up off the couch. Before folding washing, putting it away, having a cup of tea, showering and going to bed.

Repeat for the next 15 years!

Home life, work, looking after pets, never-ending laundry, cleaning and food preparation, kids after-school activities. It feels like our house is more hotel than home. During the week, we’re in it to eat and sleep. That is all. On the weekends, it’s catching up on housework and laundry. You’d think the house would be cleaner considering it’s hardly been occupied all week!

I’m one of the lucky ones. I am not working to make ends meet. I am not doing it on my own. I am not socially, culturally, economically disadvantaged. I’m working 3 days a week, school hours, and volunteering 1 day, and it’s still too much! The days, weeks, school terms, holidays are so busy, so fast-paced. It’s like the old ‘Ground Hog Day’ movie. It’s hard to stay enthused about the ‘same-shit-different-day’ routine. At least, it is for me.

Sometimes I think there’s something wrong with me. “How come everyone else can do all of this monotonous shit so readily? Isn’t anyone else slowly losing their mind from the mundanity of it all?” The constant routine is just so boring. I know I’m supposed to ‘enjoy this phase’ because ‘it’ll be over before I know it!?’, but I just want to know what’s missing?

Where is the fun, adventure, spontaneity? You know that feeling of mucking around, kicking a footy and watching it go up in the air way further than you expected! Or even better, being able to actually get under it and catch it.

Where is the novel and exciting? Like, the thrill of diving in under the cold of the ocean waves. Then waiting for the right moment to dive onto the wave and ride it to shore, using only your body.

Where is the tranquil and serene? The quiet delight of stumbling across a giant bumblebee in the garden, and watching it buzz between trees, hunting for pollen.

Where is the awe and amazement? That feeling of walking under a canopy of towering trees, so old, and mighty that you forget about your problems, as they all feel so insignificant in the grand scheme of things. 

Where is the magic?

When we rush, rush, rush through life, we miss all of these possible moments of magic. It doesn’t have to be out in nature. That’s just where I find it most. It’s also in the little daily interactions – playing with our children or pets, hearing other people’s laughter, seeing their smiles, dancing with friends, holding hands, hugging, feeling proud of yourself, being curious, talking about things that matter. Doing the things we love, with the people that we love. The beautiful, magic things that give life meaning. The little things that turn out to be the big things. These ‘little things’ will be the moments that flash before our eyes as we take our last breath.

I think we’re missing the point, as a society. We’re so busy working, so hard, so often, that we’re rushing our lives away. Our time is so filled up with meaningless, mundane tasks, often motivated by money, or keeping up appearances. We need money to survive. That’s not debatable. We want to feel loved and valued, that’s for sure. But, I just wish that we could live a life that’s a little more motivated by magic than money or what other people think of us.

Imagine waking up tomorrow, and going about your day, as if everything was a little bit magic? A bit like seeing the world through the eyes of a three year old….

If I were three years old, would I spend 3 hours cleaning my house and doing laundry on a Saturday? Or, would I spend 3 minutes cleaning, and have a dance party at the same time? Sure, the house is going to be messy, and I’m going to have a hard time finding clean clothes, but I’m not worried, because I’m having fun, and I only wanted to wear the same Spiderman suit, or Frozen dress again anyway!

The point is, don’t take it all so seriously. Life is an adventure! A beautiful, magical adventure.

So, how about you? Do you think you can bring a little more magic to the mundane? Good luck making some magic this week. Let me know how you go, I’d love to hear from you.

Much love,

MumOf3WR