Remember how you felt on Christmas morning as a child, that frisson of excitement, of magic hanging in the air after weeks of anticipation? Or what about the sparks that flew when you started dating someone special, when you woke every morning unable to think of anything but when you would speak to or see that person next, your impatience to see how the relationship would unfold?

If you are anything like me, these moments of exhilarating happiness and excitement still happen as an adult but became fewer and further between compared with when I was a child. I wondered why, and what I could do to inject more magic and sparkle back into life. So I decided to explore some more examples of magic-infused memories to figure out what made them so special.

Some of my magical memories:

1. Trip to Carcasssonne (see my post from earlier today)

http://chicbalance.com/?cat=8

2. Aeroplane Trips

As a child, whenever we had an overseas trip planned, my sisters and I would be so excited about going on the aeroplane. More excited about the trip there than the holiday itself really…We loved having our own seats with our own light switch and music channels we could control ourselves (back then in the 80s there was just one large movie screen at the front of the cabin which we would watch through the gaps between the seats, never dreaming of the luxury of having a library of movies to choose from like we have today!).  We loved the cosiness of the aeroplane cabin with the soothing white-noise of the airplane propellers when the lights were dimmed.  We would plan what games we would take with us .to play and dream of eating food out of little boxes in a tray and even practice “aeroplane eating” when we played make-believe.  (Having since experienced economy-class aeroplane food as an adult I can’t really explain to you or myself why we had that particular fascination…).  I even loved airports, and still do.  To me, international airports all over the world all have the same air of excitement.  A tantalising port to exotic destinations soon to be reached.

3. Getting up early for road trips

As a child, we would regularly get up in the early hours when it was still dark to start a long trip to visit my aunt and cousins. I loved spending time with my cousins, but the trip itself was exciting. As with overseas plane flights, it was the start of an exciting journey, with the thought of the whole trip stretching out in front of you. But there was also a definite novelty associated with being awake and having somewhere to go at a time of day when I would normally not be allowed up. There was a certain magic in the night air, the crisp coolness of it, the blanket of darkness just beyond the window, sprinkled with the twinkling lights of stars and street lamps which made the interior of the car all the cosier. Then of course there was the magic of a beautiful sunrise….I enjoyed sharing these experiences with my parents and later my siblings.

4. A special dinner after a busy day at work

I remember, one day I had a special romantic dinner at a restaurant to look forward to for the evening. I had quite a busy work day to get through beforehand, but having somewhere special to go afterwards infused the whole day with excitement. At the end of the day I was able to pack up and mentally and physically, close the door on work and enthusiastically start the next exciting part of my day.

5. Summer holidays after exams

I was something of a geek at high school and university… I studied pretty hard, and the end of year exams were associated with weeks of discipline, sacrifice, hard work, stress and fatigue. So handing in that last exam paper for the year and stepping out into the sunshine came with a certain euphoria (probably heightened by the delirium of sleep deprivation!). The moment was particularly exhilarating if I knew I had “aced” the exam, but even when I didn’t feel so great about it, there was a certain relief in knowing it was all over and I could look forward to starting the summer holidays.

6. An exciting new project

There is nothing like a new project you are passionate about to fill you with enthusiasm and excitement. For me right now, that is this blog! I don’t know where this will lead, if anyone will read it, or like it, or if I will still be writing it in a year. But I do know that I have always wanted to write for others as well as myself since I was a child. I am writing about things I am passionate about, am excited to share my thoughts with you, and am dreaming about the possibilities of what I will explore and where this might go.

7. Christmas…this deserves a post of its own! I will come back to this one next December…

 

So in considering what  made these childhood and adult memories so magical, I noticed the following:

a) All have an element of anticipation. Of looking forward to something that promises to be exciting and delightful for a reasonably long period of time. Anticipation of an exotic holiday, of a whole day filled with wonderful possibilities, of a whole evening out in a lovely restaurant, of the whole of the summer holidays, of all the possibilities and potential for success of a new project, of finding wonderful and delightful things when setting out to explore an exciting new place.I have decided anticipation at the beginning of something nice is possibly the best part of a pleasurable experience. When the entire experience is still in store, but yet tantilisingly close. The magical memory is complete when the things we look forward to are every bit as amazing as we imagined or if we are lucky even better!

b) Novelty

Being awake at an unusual time (for a nice reason!), seeing a new place, trying new food, doing something different –the novelty of these elements helped to add an extra sparkle to make the experience special. Trying something different is such a refreshing change to everyday life which can get a little mundane sometimes.

c) Contrast

Pleasurable experiences are heightened by contrast. The contrast of having something like a busy work day or exams and then being to suddenly switch into celebration/holiday mode, letting the pressures of whatever else there is to worry about in life lift away, if only for that period of time.

d) An interesting challenge

It is great to have hobbies you enjoy, and if you are lucky a job you love. The start of a new project you are passionate about is so exciting, a time filled with creativity, purpose and potential.

e) Shared experience

All of these experiences involve sharing moments with others, whether with loved ones, fellow students or you, my readers! This is not to say you can’t have magical moments on your own (I have had quite a few). But having someone to share the experience with,  whether at the time or by telling them about it afterwards often seems to heighten the experience.

Try this!

1. List at least 5 memories of times that felt magical and exciting. Go on, take a stroll down memory lane and indulge in reliving some of your most wonderfully delightful memories
2. For each memory, write down what you think made it so wonderful
3. Use those reasons to inspire a list of ways you can inject more magic and wonderment into your life now!
4. Think about how you can add anticipation, novelty and passion into your life and consider how you might share the experience with others.

À demain!