Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is that there is no such thing as magic.
Speaker 1: What looks like magic is generally skilled labor that is
Speaker 1: kept invisible. So if you want magic, it's up to
Speaker 1: you to make it happen. But the good news is
Speaker 1: that you probably can make it happen. And on those
Speaker 1: occasions when we see magic, sometimes it is even more
Speaker 1: magical when we acknowledge this. Today's tip comes from an
Speaker 1: unexpected source. Longtime listeners may recall that in twenty twenty
Speaker 1: three I wrote a sonnet every week, that is a
Speaker 1: fourteen line poem in iambic Pa with a certain rhyming scheme.
Speaker 1: Late in the year, I wrote one of those sonnets
Speaker 1: about the seeming magic of Christmas with beautifully decorated trees
Speaker 1: and wrapped packages amid the bleakness of winter. Here are
Speaker 1: a few lines from that poem. I sit in silence,
Speaker 1: gazing at my tree, all trimmed with baubles, softly glowing lights,
Speaker 1: a beacon in the window greeting me, acknowledging the lateness
Speaker 1: of these nights. When I was wrapping presents, tying bows.
Speaker 1: All magic is just labor hidden well. The poem goes
Speaker 1: on from there, but I heard from a lot of
Speaker 1: readers about that last line, all magic is just labor
Speaker 1: hidden well. My Christmas tree was beautiful, magical seeming, with
Speaker 1: the ornaments and lights and presents underneath, but it wasn't
Speaker 1: actually magic. I made it happen. I decided I wanted
Speaker 1: a particularly showy tree, and I made sure we got one.
Speaker 1: I spent hours figuring out what my kids wanted and
Speaker 1: ordering and shopping for gifts, and I spent lots of
Speaker 1: time wrapping the gifts in bright, shiny paper with extra
Speaker 1: bows and ribbons. All of this was not magic. At times,
Speaker 1: it felt like a slog, but with the effort in
Speaker 1: late nights behind me, as I sat looking at my
Speaker 1: tree on December morning, it felt like magic. I think
Speaker 1: it's empowering to realize that apparent magic results from labor,
Speaker 1: because that means we aren't dependent on something outside of
Speaker 1: ourselves to make magic happen. We can do it ourselves.
Speaker 1: We may need to invest a lot of effort, but
Speaker 1: when we do, delight can ensue. It feels great to
Speaker 1: make magic for other people, whether that's with Christmas decorations
Speaker 1: and gifts, a transporting dinner party or Halloween costume that
Speaker 1: makes a child's dream a reality. Now this is not
Speaker 1: to say that we need to do more invisible labor.
Speaker 1: I bet a lot of people listening to this podcast
Speaker 1: are already doing a lot of thankless invisible labor. But
Speaker 1: we do have the power to use our creativity, time
Speaker 1: and effort to delight those we love by making magic
Speaker 1: for them. And we can make magic for ourselves too.
Speaker 1: If you want a show stopping vacation, you can dream
Speaker 1: up how to make it happen and execute on it.
Speaker 1: If you want a gorgeous Thanksgiving spread like you see
Speaker 1: in magazines, you can figure out how to gussy up
Speaker 1: your dining room, create an autumnal tablescape, and make all
Speaker 1: those elaborate dishes that look so scrumptious. If you are
Speaker 1: wishing to be celebrated for a particular accomplishment, well book
Speaker 1: the venue, invite the people, and create the party of
Speaker 1: your dreams. As a corollary, when you experience something magical,
Speaker 1: you can repeat that same phrase, all magic is just
Speaker 1: labor hidden Well that magician has practiced to make his
Speaker 1: tricks look effortless. That sequence of pyrotechnics at a concert
Speaker 1: was rehearsed until they simply couldn't fail. That teacher who
Speaker 1: can get a rambunctious little kid interested in a book
Speaker 1: is not actually possessed of magical powers. She is just really,
Speaker 1: really good at her job. So let's acknowledge that humans
Speaker 1: can do utterly amazing things when they think it through
Speaker 1: and work really hard. I find hard labor more impressive
Speaker 1: than magic. Actually keeping this phrase in mind empowers us
Speaker 1: to keep attempting ambitious wonders. Have you made any magic lately?
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear about it. You can reach me
Speaker 1: at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.
Speaker 1: If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach
Speaker 1: me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,
Speaker 1: please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.