Catch The Good

Let’s call her Maisie, and if you had asked me about her ten minutes ago, I would have said she was nice but negative, kind but dull, that she could talk for England but only about herself and her many ailments, and that I only see her a couple of times a year, for an hour, tops, and that’s about right for me.

Then, I watched a YouTube clip, and Maisie was doing a magic show for a couple of hundred people, and she was good, really good. She had the skills that only come from hours and hours of practice, and too many performances to count, and she had the audience in the palm of her hand. She loved them, and they loved her right back, they were enchanted by her, in her spell.

She looked different too, assured and taller, under the spotlights, lit from within, like we all are when we’re doing something we love, a big smile for everyone, shining eyes, positively twinkling.

I had never seen her like that, probably because I had never looked, set in the way I thought of her, and always getting what I expected. I hadn’t looked for the good, didn’t know there was a smile handy, and had hardly ever talked to her about her magic, and I’m a magician.

Obviously I hung my head in shame, for a bit, then gave myself a good talking to, about asking people about the things they love, about seeing people doing what they’re best at and seeing the best of them, about expecting the best of people. I finished up the talk with a three word reminder, for me, and you, if you like.

Catch The Good

Dear Reader, catch the good, in the people you know and love, and everyone else too. Start with yourself.

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