Look for the Magical Function of Things

Sometimes an activity, an event, or even an object will have so many different effects or uses in your life that it may be right to consider it to have a magical function.  One example could be in the way you might spend your time. When my children were little we spent a lot of time waiting in doctor's offices.  Ear aches, booster shots, and so on.  I began to keep a bag of crochet needles and yarn with me. This was more calming than hunting for something to read and I could keep a better eye on the girls and even talk with them while I crocheted. That Christmas I had a lot of well appreciated gifts for my family for which I hadn't had to spend much money for, or endure the stress of last minute shopping. I improved my skills at crochet and later was paid to do some crochet therapy for a woman whose psychiatrist wanted her to develop more skills in using her hands.  My daughters became interested in the art and have both made some very interesting and well crafted crocheted rag rugs.  Another time I was going through a stressful period in  my life and I remembered how soothing crochet could be.  Just the making of simple stitches.  I gathered up a lot of odds and ends of yarn and crocheted a serenity afghan.  No particular color, no particular pattern.  I even left the tied-off ends showing.  I only worked on it when I needed to "get a grip", which meant I finished it fairly quickly, actually.  The end result was charming enough, although very folk and rustic, that it was on my couch for years for anyone who felt a chill, or a need of comfort. Crochet had a magical function in my life.
Cause and effect can be amazing.  Multiple results, benefits, or blessings can come from a simple thing.  I have a couple of good friends that I met when my eye was caught by something they were wearing and I mentioned it. One pot of rice can be big enough to be the base for Chinese food, Spanish rice, rice pudding and soup.  Scholarly research might lead to a term paper, good conservation, new avenues of research, and projects for another class.  When a stone skips across a pond multiple ripples are created.  Sometimes you can actually use this to bring magical things into your life.  Other times your life will be better just from noticing the way a little thing, such as a reply to en e-mail or a smile, will bring many good things into your life over and over.  So I suggest to all wise magicians that you open up to a wider world, and look for the magical function of things.  May the spark be with you.