You read that right. Magic is real.
If you’re anything like me, you grew up on fantasy. The Disney princesses, The Magic Treehouse books, Wizards of Waverly Place and Harry Potter essentially shaped my childhood. Somehow, magic found its way to me in every stage of my life. I loved it; believing in magic made me feel hopeful and powerful and allowed me to dream that I could do anything.
Of course, as they say, when I grew older, the world grew colder, and that belief in magic disappeared from my life pretty quickly. It became clear to me by the age of ten that the real world didn’t have fairies, schools for wizards or magical creatures to accompany me on a coming-of-age adventure. I came to terms with this, as all children eventually do, and I simply carried on.
I suppose I should have known magic would somehow find me again, but this time, to my utter delight, it would be absolutely real — just not in the way I would have thought.
I can’t pinpoint the day. I just remember walking into my kitchen sometime after high school during my junior year, and there it was, laying on the table: the magic.
No, literally.
The Magic, by Rhonda Byrnes, one of the many books from my mom’s health and wellness collection, was just sitting there. She left it out for me to start reading, so I did, and that is exactly when magic reentered my life.
Rhona Byrnes is known for authoring popular books regarding New Thought topics, usually relating to positive thinking, healing, religion, personal power, and the law of attraction. She published The Magic (now one of my favorite books of all time) in 2012, and the book explains that the simple, sole, all-powerful key to having good fortune and power over your life is (cue the drum roll)…
Gratitude!
Were you slightly disappointed reading that, too? I know, it sounds cliche. When I first read that, my initial thought was “You’ve got to be kidding me!”.
But as it turns out, Rhonda was right, and you can prove it to yourself, just like I did.
The Magic has easy, guided gratitude exercises for 28 days. Some days have special themes; for instance, there are days dedicated to completing gratitude exercises relating to your health, or other days that ask you to find gratitude for negative things that have happened to you. However, regardless of the day’s theme, you also make a list of ten very specific things you were grateful for that day.
Why does any of that matter? Well according to the law of attraction, when you are grateful and send gratitude for what you have out into the universe, the universe will give those things back to you in an abundance. The Magic includes these remarkable stories of people who practice these exercises daily. One man increased his salary by $100,000 with The Magic. Another woman completely improved her health. A couple used The Magic to fix their relationship. Someone used the exercises to find love. This secret has changed lives, relationships, occupations, health, financial situations, and overall attitude for thousands of people — and I’m one of them.
I started doing The Magic’s exercises as soon as the coronavirus ran rampant across the world. We had just been sent home for the semester and I needed a new, positive habit to keep me going. I have now done an exercise every day since March 11, 2020, and it’s definitely changed how I look at my daily life. I find myself searching for things to be grateful for each day, and the more I practice my gratitude, more things seem to come my way to be grateful for — just as the book says.
When I gave gratitude for having such great and supportive friends, soon I had more opportunities to grow with them, spend time with them or even make new friends. When I gave gratitude for the financial stability I have experienced, I came across two exciting job opportunities that perfectly related to my interests and schedule. I’ve given gratitude each day for my health, and I haven’t been sick since I started the exercises back in March (which is a feat for someone who always catches a cold every few months). I’ve given gratitude for the professional opportunities I’ve had to advance my career interests, and I just keep coming across more and more!
I really believe so many great opportunities and blessings have come my way with these exercises and that giving gratitude really can bring me more of an abundance of what I’d like, just as The Magic says. Maybe it’s just because I’m trained to find the good in each day that I notice all of these gifts that perhaps were there all along, or maybe it’s because gratitude really is the magic of the universe and we all have the power to possess it.
Either way, magic really has found a way back into my life, and it’s certainly filled it with a similar wonder and excitement as it did when I was a kid. And for that, I’m very grateful.