I recently recalled a story my parents loved to talk about when I was growing up. As with many small children, I had a best friend I carried with me everywhere and loved so much that by the time I was four years old, her insides were coming out. In this case, my best friend was Raggedy Ann, and her condition was such that I’m sure she would have been considered a choking hazard by today’s parenting standards. My parents knew they needed to do something about the situation, but the big challenge was how they were going to pry her from my clutches while avoiding the hysterical tears. It was just before the holidays and my mother, who was working as a nurse at the time, managed to convince me to let Raggedy Ann go to the hospital so the doctors could “perform surgery,” promising to have her home by Christmas. My poor father, who was put in charge of bringing the completely healed Raggedy Ann home on Christmas Eve, ended up buying a doll that was three times the size of the original. At that point it was too late, and all my parents could do was brace themselves for the response they’d witness the next morning. Fortunately for them, when I woke to discover a doll that was closer to my own size, I jumped up and down with delight and exclaimed “She grew!” They had momentarily forgotten that this little girl of theirs was still seeing life through the lens of the magical child . . .
As I smiled while telling this story and thinking about the joy it gave my parents so many years ago, I realized this child was now speaking directly to me. It was as if the memory of this event had surfaced in order to remind me that the magical lens is still there to be used anytime I wish. Because children tend to not judge their circumstances the way adults do, there is a beautiful wisdom expressed in the way they respond to life. They are able, through their imagination, to still see that magnificent, creative force that’s always present in our lives, if we’re just willing to remain open to it. It shows us how to let go of the visions of what the perfect life should look like and see the joy and magic that’s already there in front of us. In one of my favorite films, Life is Beautiful, Roberto Benigni presents this concept in a profound way by using the magical child as a resource for helping his son survive the horrors of the holocaust.
So much of our modern culture focuses on the illusions of what the perfect life should look like that time and energy is wasted judging and scrutinizing ourselves and others. This in turn can inhibit the flow of creative thinking and leave parts of the spirit which want to be expressed through the life we’ve been given lost in the shadows. When we take moments to look at life from the viewpoint of the magical child, this limited thinking begins to dissolve and we start to experience some of the best surprises in life which can actually come from the imperfections and unplanned twists and turns.
Summer is considered the season that celebrates the magic of nature and the inner child, basking in these long sunny days. By taking moments to enjoy the beauty that’s already in our lives, we can catch glimpses of that ever-present child in all of us, waiting to reveal the true magic of what life is all about.
