MAGIC, MOJO, AND THE LAND

I am a magic thinker. I see secret signs in birds, trees, if a song comes on the radio or in the store or wherever. I believe all things are connected by The Force, by Cosmic Strings. 

By the power of my mind.

This may or may not be a good thing.

But there it is and I really can't change it. 

I suppose some of my self-styled mysticism comes from my mother, who had many of the same traits. She found "The Land" to have magic. And when she said "The Land", there were always quotations marks around it. You could feel them in how she said the words. And I believe "The Land" to indeed have mojo. There is something in the Earth, in the soil, the trees and flowers and fields of corn. There is always a feeling I get when I look to the West, East, North or South. A connection to greater things, larger ideas that can possibly fit in my tiny little human sized brain. 

I am thinking on this because one of the ways I manifest the magic is in totems. Items. Action figures, show shirts, actual photographs, virtual ones too, coffee mugs. 

And hats.

I just got back from California. And I had just got a hat at Disney's California Adventure. A really good one, featuring the logo for Guardians of the Galaxy. Sometimes you find a hat that just feels right. Like it belongs on your head. This was one of those hats. I wore it every day for the past week.

Then I had rehearsal for Chamber of Secrets. It's a kids show I'm doing up at Reel Kids. And this one has 29 real kids, grades 2-5. 

Sometimes I think it should be called Chamber of Horrors. 

It's just a lot of kids to have in a show. Especially when it's just me and one assistant. Things can get a little hectic. 

And by hectic I mean totally insane.

So yesterday, as I'm trying to direct the final scene of the show, and with no assistant due to college finals, one of my little cast members pulled my hat off my head. I didn't have time to grab it back, as I was trying to keep things in a semblance of control.

And I forgot all about it.

Hours later, after that rehearsal and then another one for a production of Little Shop of Horrors, also at Reel Kids, as I was finally heading to my car for the hour drive home, I reached for my hat, and realized it was still with that kid.

I searched the entire theatre space twice over, hoping that the kid had set it down somewhere. 

No such luck.

So for the next couple of hours, I obsessed over my hat.

Because it has mojo. Magic. Power. The Force.

And around midnight I thought to myself, "I am a magical thinker, and I dig that, but this is too much." And I tried to let it go. 

A hat is just a hat. Nothing to lose sleep over. There are far more serious things in life.

That didn't work.

Then, I realized that the Hat was going on a journey, organized and orchestrated by the Mojo Gods of Headgear; that this was meant to be; that I had actually fulfilled my destiny. 

And sleep came.

Here's a song. It's Magic Carpet Ride by Steppenwolf.