A few weeks ago I published my first article. The events that inspired that article took place years ago. It took me awhile to recount that transformational day and even longer to refine my writing and present it to the world. I concluded that my intention in writing was not for the purpose of teaching or lecturing, but rather to inspire goodness and understanding in one another. I decided the beauty of technology is to bring us closer in our humanity while retaining our individual identities.

I love writing and I love sharing. Vulnerability is a strength of mine. I want to share that strength with others. We could all benefit from some empathy and that starts with openness and honesty.

As for the subject of this article: Magic.

After I published my article, a dear friend of mine listened to me on my journey of self-reflection as I figured out what my gift to the world is (because I prefer that question to the question of what career path best suits me). My gift to the world is to help people. Pretty broad, I know. But it's true.

I was a combat medic. I'm a certified Pilates instructor. I'm now an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach (it's a mouthful). I love performing, singing, acting, dancing. And all of that because it brings me closer to people and I love making people happy. In this conversation with my friend, it became clear that my relationships are the most important thing to me. In each of those relationships, a struggle. And in that struggle — magic.

So, she made a wonderful suggestion. Write about magic.

Scotland has been my dream destination and singular bucket list item for as long as I can remember. I finally went. I cried as I sat on the train and crossed the border between England and Scotland. The rugged landscape. The beautiful water. The colors you can taste. It was exactly what I knew it was going to be — magical.

Imagine two people holding up one hand each and bringing them as close as possible without touching. The energy between those two hands is the essence of Scotland. It's rich and deep in its mystery. It's the in-between place.

When the fountain of youth is depicted in stories and movies, people scour the land in search of the one thing that will keep them young forever. It's always an arduous journey with twists and turns and ships in storms.

I believe all these depictions are wrong. There is no purpose in living forever. The gift of humanity is our self-awareness to value our relationships — to value the one thing that is never-ending. The well of the fountain of youth is unconditional love. It sustains us. And it is eternal. Most importantly, we don't have to battle pirates and the undead to get there.

It's waiting for us in the in-between place.

When people are in life-or-death survival situations, there are two important factors in relation to who survives and who doesn't. Those who have something to live for and who have levity even in the darkest of times. Sometimes it was because someone else was with them and they needed to take care of said person. Many survivors say they thought of their mother, spouse, or child. That's what kept them going.

And in the moments when it was clear that all was lost and there was no chance of making it, those people surrendered to the beauty of the universe and mother nature — the everything and the nothingness. They found poetry in the struggle of survival. They didn't victimize themselves. They felt the value of their life even if it were just about to end. They felt the magic.

Magic is there for us to access within ourselves. It comes out of our struggle of realizing who we are and what our role is here. But just like those survivors, it makes it easier to access when we're doing it with or for someone else. We can make every-day life magical and magnificent, especially coming out of the friction of understanding another person and their existence.

I intend to continue pursuing the difficult things. The struggle in finding understanding and compassion with others, especially when I think there is none to be found.

I intend to tap into the water of the fountain of youth (pun intended) and unconditional love for myself and others.

I intend to survive every day, not for the sake of survival, but for the sake of love, levity, magic and all that is beautiful. I hope you do too.