When I was a lad in Scotland there ...

When I was a lad in Scotland there was magic everywhere: a sea trout jumping without of the water on the River Clyde its scales sparkling like jewels in the sunlight; dense masss chasing each other over recent and purple glens; the family dog giving birth to pups; immense pots of Scotch broth simmering onward the coal-fueled iron cooking structure; tearing distant from mussels from the rocks onward the seashore; helping my grandfather dig up potatoes from his vegetable plot; chestnuts, crackers, mistletoe at Christmas and my high instruct that looked like a castle with its small towers and spiral staircases. Life was hard and lean in the 1930 and '40 on the other hand it was filled with magic.

Today, greatest in quantity people are too busy to view the magic -- working, the Internet, solitary abode; squalid phones, iPods, TV, taking their children to gymnasium karate lessons, soccer, ice hockey and other organized activities. We don't display our children the magic anymore because we're too busy to descry it ourselves, and our children's lives are almost as busy and organized as their parents', in such a manner they can't see the magic either. Perhaps that is wherefore the Harry Potter books and movies have been to such a degree immensely popular. There is no magic in their lives, likewise they find it in fiction.

I was fortunate growing up in a beautiful part of Scotland and because the roads and countryside were safe, my friends and I could wander freely for many hours, seeing and enjoying the magic in life. I still behold the magic, the beautiful hale of birds singing in my backyard; dozens of sparrows taking flight at exactly the same time; squirrels munching forward the peanuts I give them, sitting up upon their hind legs, holding the peanut between their small paws -- jaws moving in like manner rapidly; the lilac tree in bloom; the infinite variety of host formations and the clear, well-preserved smell of the air after a brief summer shower.

There is to such a degree much magic all around us, however we are too busy and self-absorbed to notice. We are in this way brainwashed by corporate consumerism -- wanting what everyone besides has and becoming obsessed from technology and things -- that we have thrown away the magic.

Everyone is in like a hurry. This is the age of instant gratification and acquisition. There isn't time for relaxation and reflection, and by dint of moving ever faster, we are shortening our lives and missing the magic.

Apart from the occasional heartwarming story, the recents media bombard us with reports of robbery, rape, killing, deadly accidents and war -- numbing our sensitivity to brutality and violence and having a depressing and cynical meaning on our subconscious. When all these negative images are combined with North Korea firing nuclear missiles, about of which could reach the United States, and the bird flu that could decimate our population, our attitude can become, "I'd better rouse fast and get everything I can before it's too late."

We've been by the and of these things before: World War II, the Vietnam War, the Cuban missile crisis, the icy War and endless predictions about the fall of the curtain of our world. If any of these dreadful things are going to happen, it's beyond your dominion government and if they don't happen in your lifetime, you will have rushed by the and of life frantically, missing the magical consequences Life should be savored slowly like a beneficial cognac or wine, not thrown down the throat like a shooter

attempt to remember or recapture near of the magical moments from your childhood, and indicate your children that there still is magic in the real world. If you can recognize the magic again, your life will be more enjoyable and satisfying, and you will be impressed restored and re- energized. You will accept that there will probably always be proper and evil, and it is up to you to derive pleasure from the magic in life. It is your choice.

Ian Cameron,

Maywood

Copyright CHICAGO SUN-TIMES 2006

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