Always With the Magic

I love magic in my stories. It's second only to romance. For me, magic is as much a matter of the heart as love, I suppose. And this is why:

*We HAVE to believe in magic.
Okay, so it's not mandatory in the sense that you're going to go to jail if you are a muggle. But I don't see how anyone can survive in this world if they are completely lacking that sense of something more lurking just around the corner. It's what gets us through hard times, helps up pull ourselves up by our bootstraps--and sometimes it's what somehow makes everything work out okay, even when it seemed the world was falling apart.

*Sometimes magic fails.
Wait, didn't I just say we have to have magic to get through tough times? Yes. But that doesn't mean it won't fail us at a crucial moment. That's when we find out the truth--that the real magic was inside us all along, not out there in the world somewhere.

*That sounds good, but what has magic done for me lately?
Personally, the magic in the world, and ultimately inside me, has gotten me to where I am today. It hasn't always been pretty. In fact at times it's been downright hell. But somehow when we are challenged in life, we always come out stronger. And the harder, the more excruciatingly painful the challenge, the stronger we become. If that isn't magic, I don't know what is.

image by tomhotovy