From Cafe Writing's 2008 Holiday Project:

Option One: Seven Things

That's the thing with magic. You've got to know it's still here, all around us, or it just stays invisible for you.

- Charles DeLint

In improvisation, one of our exercises is a game called "Seven Things," in which we go around in a circle giving each other the challenge, "Give me seven things that [whatever]." We are not going to go around in a circle here, but if you're drawn to lists, this prompt is for you.

Give me seven magical things in your world. Interpret "magical" any way you please. You're not required to explain the items in your list, but it's more fun for readers if you do.

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It's a Magical World

1. The world gets more amusing if you turn yourself into a superhero(ine) and battle aliens as small as microbes or UFOs too, saving the world, and recruiting an army of squirrels as your backup. I want to be Calvin's best friend when I grow up.

2. The cure for all humanity's problems resides in the core of St. Francis of Assisi's Peace Prayer. Chant it twice daily (like a mantra or a prayer), and see how it does wonders.

3. If I ever had a daemon like Lyra in The Golden Compass, mine would be the golden phoenix. I soared over mountains and valleys in my dream with my grandmother and my younger sister's voices holding onto my hands, my heart. I never understood what being at peace or free really meant until I was lifted above the constraints of humanity, and knew that I was touched by angels, with songs I cannot compose in human dialect.

4. Through bloody tears running down her cheeks, Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, bestowed on me a message--complicated, yet simple at the same time--a message that was a poem written for the craving artist in me. Poetry defines compassion--the key to humanity, the key to my vocation--a path I am afraid to take, yet a journey I am ready to take on.

5. Having snow is a big treat, especially when you can catch them on your tongue! (It rarely snows where I live!) However, I was too busy making snowballs and snapping shots that night!


Photo by Kathy (A~Lotus), 2008. All rights reserved.

6. If I grew more nerves to react to almost getting struck by lightning twice, I probably grew a stronger spine after the 6-vehicle accident I was in this past October. Life itself is a miracle in itself, even stronger, louder, and at times more subtle than magic.

7. Love through touch sends the heart skipping with joy. Moments with friends, families, significant others, and loved ones hold so much sand in countless bottles. One can build sandcastles to the sky, even from the ocean floor. I'd always wondered why no matter how much sand you dump into the sea, there will always be more sand, and the sea will always remain the way it is: deep, salty, and (al)luring.