Invoke the magic in others

On the issue of children I found the articles on DruidJournal.net particularly insightful but was especially moved by the following paragraph taken from that site

'Children seem to be born with an innate reverence for nature, which fits right in with pagan belief. They fill their pockets with acorns, oddly shaped rocks, bits of fluff and feathers, and young blossoms ­ they can feel the raw magic sparking off such things. They can easily sense the quiet awe of a forest, and they are most at ease when surrounded by natural materials ­ cotton and wool clothing, wooden toys, silk drapes.'

I have two stories I’d like to share with you that demonstrates Jeff’s points perfectly.

Story One - The wizard

Last Saturday I packed the kids in the car and took them to 'Alderley Edge' (http://www.alderleyedge.org/ if you have a spare minute or two) and spent a good 4 hours walking around showing them the places of interest and telling them the stories of the Wizard, the Goldstone and the Druids. While walking around they were indeed touching, feeling, picking things up and generally communing with nature.

One of the sites has a well in the side of a rock face called the Wizards Well and if you look above it, carved in the rock, there is a face with the words "Drink of this and take thy fill for the water falls by the Wizard's Will". My 5 year old son Ethan (I chose his name as I always wear an Ankh the Egyptian symbol of life, and Ethan means life) was particularly taken with this with lots of questions as to whether the Wizard could become real or not.

I told him, in good Peter Pan style, that if he believed in him then he would always be real. This only encouraged further questioning as to when, where and how the Wizard changed form. These I tried to answer in a way that I would not spoil the enchantment and dispel the magic.

The best bit was when we got back to the car and Ethan said to me 'Dad, if you see the wizard will you say hello', I replied ' If you liked it here maybe you'll see him next time we come'. This produced a big smile and he can't stop talking about Wizards now. On the way home he said 'Thank you Dad, I've had a good day today'.

Story Two - The Animals in the Wood

The other story that links in with what Jeff wrote in his article relates to a day earlier this week when I decided that I would finish work early as it was a crisp, bright, and cheery day. This I did and I went and picked up my 2 year old son, Mason, from nursery so we could share some quality time together.

The two of us we went and fed the ducks and then went for a walk in the local woods. Just a short way into the woods there is a bench in a clearing near to a stream and we both sat there just enjoying the day and basking in each others company when I decided to ask him what he could see.

In response to this he lit up, and then went on for some time in his limited vocabulary to point out elephants hiding behind trees, monkeys swinging from the branches and tigers prowling 'over there' as he put it.

He carried this on for some time and then leaned over and leaned his head on me. I hugged him back, told him 'I loved him' and then we walked back to the car hand in hand.

Another two wonderful days and another two magical memories. I’ll never be able to pass either of those places again without being reminded of those special moments and those sparks of inspiration, imagination and enchantment I brought into mine, and in turn my children’s lives.

This has set me on a journey to fill their lives and my memories with many shared moments such as these and I hope that by reading this it will inspire you to do the same.

Take care and invoke the magic.

Damian