True Magic
Image by Aron Visuals
“It’s about as useless as a screen door on a submarine…”
In college, I had this friend, William, who was a big music nerd. The dude was always singing or playing the guitar, and long before Anna Kendrick made the cups rhythm famous, William was putting every song he could to that little clap-clap, tap-tap-tap, clap, grab-slide.
Image by Colin Lloyd
One of his favorites to do that with was a song called, “Screen Door”. I never actually learned the whole song, but I sang harmonies with him (and yes, tapped and passed the cups) to the first half on a regular basis. That’s probably why the song (or part of it anyway) occasionally pops into my mind like some half-remembered nursery rhyme.
It’s no secret, I lean a bit woo. In some of my circles, the idea of “manifesting” is thrown around like candy and glitter as though thinking is the magic key to everything. In some ways, it absolutely is. Even Marcus Aurelius (who, for the record was NOT woo, but totally got the power of the mind – and yes, I dig Stoicism too) famously said, “You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” Our thoughts impact a significant part of our lives. Our perceptions of reality absolutely shape our experiences. The speed at which we change our perceptions is the speed at which we change our experience. But as magical as that can seem, the real magic is in the action.
Just like in the song lyrics, ‘faith without works, it just ain’t happening.’ No amount of sitting on a meditation cushion and believing hard is going to make the dream come true. No amount of journaling or thinking about something is going to make it tangible. Yes, visualization has its place. So does practice. No amount of dreaming and visualizing and praying and talking will actually move the needle on the goal without action.
Image by James Wainscoat
Julia Cameron says, “Pray to catch the bus, then run as fast as you can.” Sure, pray. But sitting in prayer and waiting for opportunities to show up isn’t the way. We also need to physically move toward our dreams and goals. Prayer without action is meaningless. Belief without action is just wishful thinking. We have to get honest with ourselves and see why/where we are stuck so we can take appropriate actions to move forward.
Sure, believe big, and keep believing BIG – I will always be an advocate for that. We teach people how to treat us and our art through our own actions and ways of being after all, and if we don’t even believe in ourselves or our dreams, few others will. But, it’s also important to keep up with the actions that will help get us where we want to go. We get to ‘take a leap off of the ship before we claim to walk on water’ (more lyrics from that song).
The specifics of those actions depend on factors like our goals (where we want to go) and our current state (where we are). Some actions may seem mundane, or huge and terrifying, or somewhere in between. But all of them add up over time and carry us closer to what we want to have, do, be, create, or experience. Regardless of what your inner critic may tell you, the world really does need you and your brilliance.
So, here’s to getting out of our heads and into our bodies and lives in a tangible way. To taking the leap, and doing the things that will move us forward – one action at a time.