The Magical Power of Everyday Things

The older I get, the more content I am with simple everyday things.

Our lives are made of a steady stream of big and small events. Sometimes we are blessed with sweeping landmark moments like first days of school, births, landing dream jobs, graduations, weddings, family reunions, and the like. These events cause us to swell with all kinds of warm and fuzzy emotions.

Unfortunately, we can’t rely on the highlights of life to sustain us throughout the rest of life. Between the mountain and valley experiences runs the stream of days that carries us along with little fanfare.

As I grow older, the more I see the beauty of the everyday. Some may view it as mundane. I disagree because I have discovered the Magical Power of Everyday Things.

There isn’t anything inherently magical about the things on my list. However, I would argue that under the right conditions, each of these things has the ability to elevate the everyday to the magical. Here’s my short list:

Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, published a fun little book in 1990 called The Deeper Meaning of Liff: A Dictionary of Things There Aren’t Any Words for Yet. One of my favorites is lambarene (LAM-ba-reen), an adjective meaning “feeling better for having put pajamas on”.

This phenomenon is not only quite real but a testimony to the power of humble pajamas. The deep and abiding sense of contentment that jim-jams bring is only amplified if they happen to be warm from the dryer on a rainy day.

Their magical ability to soothe is a refuge in times of weariness. My favorite pair is emblazoned with flamingos donning winter hats and scarves in a trailer park setting. Really.

A hot shower at the end of the day is one of my favorite things. I would rather lather up in the evening and have to re-wet my wild hair when I rise than wait until morning to shower.

There’s something about a hot shower that washes away the cares of the day along with the sweat and grime. Steam and soap possess a transcendental property that settles me in both mind and body.

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