There is an obvious magic that some people possess that has been in the forefront of my mind lately. Have you ever been around the kind of person that, simply put, inspires you wholly.
Not in the way of that motivational five-minute video that gets you all excited for a moment but fades away until you forget you’ve watched it a few hours later. Not in the way where someone solves the problem for or gives you any sense of false hope that things will be okay “just because.”
I mean the people who make it obvious. They don’t sugarcoat. They don’t hold onto some “good vibes” mentality that things will work out if you just believe. They simplify. They help you see what you can’t comprehend.
I have a few people like this in my life and I am forever grateful for the way their voice of reason provides inspirational clarity in the moments I need it the most.
One example comes from a group of ladies that I have been friends with since 7th grade. Recently, one of our crew had a baby and was back in our hometown from out of state. Outside of the new mom, I live the farthest away and as our group text message was going off about having a get together to meet the little one, I shrugged and assumed it wasn’t a possibility.
At the time I was working five jobs, seven days a week and running The Smile Project. It seemed like a stretch to say the least. One of my friends called me, gently letting me know that everyone was coming and then asking what it would take for me to be there.
I hadn’t thought about it. She asked again, “what are the barriers to you being here?” I started to talk through calculations of what it would mean for my work schedule and my wallet to shift jobs and timelines and catch a bus. I told her I’d think about it.
She hadn’t done much. It was a ten-minute conversation as I walked from one office to the next, but she had planted a seed. What would it take for me to get there?
To say I feel blessed by these people is an understatement. There are so many times when I get caught up in my own head with preconceived ideas of how something might be difficult or why it just couldn’t happen.
But those who carry Obvious Magic inside them don’t see the limitations. They don’t tell you what to do. They ask the right question at the right time. They make it feel obvious. Why wouldn’t it work? Why don’t you think this possible? Of course you can do this. Let’s go.
Today, I am grateful for those people. How can you sprinkle some magic into someone’s life this week? How can you recognize that in yourself? And by the way, holding that baby surrounded by my childhood friends was the sweetest magic there is.
Love always,
Liz
