Practical Magic – Finding the Magic in Every Day

In honor of the Practical Magic Blog Party, I’m just going to talk off the cuff today about several ways to find and appreciate the magic in everyday life.  Too often we get caught up in living day to day and forget to live for all of the small magical moments that are either right there in front of us…or are incredibly easy to “make” happen.  So here are just a few ways that I plan to live a more magical life!  I encourage all of you to join me!!

1.  Make a wish upon a shooting star.  Remember the magic and hope of childhood?  Allow yourself to recapture it!

2. Drink a cup of tea, relax and meditate.  Connect with your inner self.

3.  Take a walk and look around you at all the magic in your own neighborhood…the newly blossomed flowers, the rabbit munching on the clover in the lawn, the morning dew on the leaves…experience it all anew.

4.  Follow your intuition.  Don’t ignore that little voice within…let it speak and listen.  We are all wiser than we think.

5.  Engage in random acts of kindness and see how the magic spreads.  Buy a dozen flowers and give them out to strangers on the street.

6.  Plant a seedling  and watch it grow day after day and year after year into a tree and admire the magic of Mother Nature.

7.  Start an herb garden even if it’s just a few pots on your kitchen windowsill.  You can use the herbs while cooking or to prepare home remedies or toiletries…or just enjoy the wonderful and magical aromas that they impart.

8.  Volunteer within your community and bring magic into another’s life.

9. Widen your circle.  Get to know your neighbors – make some pumpkin bread and go introduce yourself.

Pumpkin Bread recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups shredded fresh pumpkin
• 1 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.

In a separate bowl, mix the sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla. Combine both mixtures and fold in the shredded pumpkin and pumpkin seeds. Once the ingredients are all incorporated pour into a non- stick 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan. If your pan is not non- stick coat it with butter and flour.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. At this point a knife inserted into the middle of the loaf should come out clean. Cool for 15 minutes and turn out onto a cooling rack. Cool completely. For muffins temperature should also be 325 degrees F., but bake for 30 minutes

10.  Take a magical bath.  Use lavender in the bath and let your cares fade away into the sunset…

Lavender Sugar Scrub

• ½ cup jojoba oil
• ¾ cup of  sugar
• 6 drops of lavender essential oil
• Bunch of finely chopped fresh lavender and flowers

Mix and enjoy!

And remember:   There’s a little witch in all of us!

Visit the Practical Magic Party 2011 site to see a list of all the other participants!

Image Credits
Lilac Field: Image: prozac1 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Tea:Image: Piyachok Thawornmat / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Rabbit:Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Flowers:Image: Rosen Georgiev / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Seedling:Image: criminalatt / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Shooting star:Image: Exsodus / FreeDigitalPhotos.net