I believe in magic.
Not witchcraft, not voodoo, nor even the“sufficiently advanced technology” indistinguishable from magic of Clarke’s third law (but thanks be to technology for the incomprehensible gift of cut-and-paste, spell check, and the magical interwebs). I’m talking about the magic of Harry Potter. Still not the magic of lignum vitae wands with phoenix feathers, expeliarmus, and time twisters, but the mysterious magic of love.
[SPOILER ALERT]
As we learn early on, Harry survived Voldemort’s attack because of his mother’s love. Dumbledore explains it to Harry, “If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love.” And as we learn late in the final book, Snape, tortured and ambitious, always chooses good because of his love for Harry’s mother. Again and again throughout the saga, Harry is pressured toward isolation, doubt, pessimism, negativity, and evil. But every time the persistence of love and loyalty, friendship and trust hold him to his mission of good.
Newspapers, magazines, and web pages love the “feel-good” stories about love: the mother who serves as a surrogate so her daughter can have a child, the long-separated adopted sibling who donates a kidney, the young man who shields his fiancee’s body during a shooting spree.
Life and love for most of us is not that dramatic, but it is still magical.
I sometimes get to officiate at weddings. The bride and groom choose their own ceremony, but I include my own belief about marriage. Usually, I say some form of this: Because the meaning of marriage is communal, no one person can be in charge. Your marriage will not be what you, [the bride], or you, [the groom], want it to be. Instead, it will be what the two of you, and time, life, and family make it. [The bride] is not dedicating herself to [the groom] today, nor [the groom] to [the bride]. Together they dedicate themselves to something greater. That is the mystery of marriage. When individuals commit themselves to a greater purpose, which encourages growth in individuals devoted to it powerful, wonderful, magical things happen. That is the mystery of marriage.
That, I say now, is the magic of love.
In Harry Potter magic requires some small things done just right: spells require incantations and gesticulations. Pronounce your “Wingarium Leviosa” wrong, or wave the wand too crudely, and the feather won’t float. Potions need the right ingredients in the right proportions, the right order, and under the right condition. Real life magic is like that too. The hug that is exactly right after her tough day at work is horribly wrong when you just woke her up getting home after 1:00 AM when you didn’t call. The heart emoji that brightens a “Good morning!” text darkens the “I forgot to tell you we are having lunch with my parents during Sunday’s Patriots game” message. The surprise romantic getaway on our anniversary is not romantic at all when there is no money for groceries.
Recent research indicates that healthy, happy marriages are based on kindness and generosity. This knowledge is not new: it is in some of the oldest compiled wisdom in Western literature. "First Corinthians," often read at weddings, includes, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”
There is a real-world volunteer philanthropic organization inspired by the Harry Potter books. They call themselves the Harry Potter Alliance, and their motto is “The Weapon We Have is Love.”
It is not easy, and, it is not a fairy-tale “happily ever after,” and it may come at great cost, but it is magic. This I believe.
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