The London conspiracy

It even rained perfectly. Enough to feel the familiar spirit of the city but without the need for an umbrella. It was palpable – that feeling that somehow every moment and every detail had been carefully and masterfully ordered before my arrival, and the only requirement was that I match it with complete openness and trust.

The way that the magic of London is portrayed in Harry Potter films is not that huge of an exaggeration. The city has so many layers, so much history, so many timelines and it all intertwines and overlaps in the most amazing way as if it’s all happening at once. As if those who lived there before as well as the future inhabitants are all mixed in with the current reality. So you can be absolutely whoever you want to be there – move with freedom, anonymously, playing whichever version of yourself you want to experience. Chances are nobody will even notice. The downside is that with all the hustle, advertisements and tired faces on the Tube it can be so easy to miss the magic – maybe even someone passing by with a pointed hat and a cauldron. But you can also get completely soaked in it if only you choose to be a keen observer.

And so I did. A stop at the head-spinning London School of Economics library where years ago I studied rerum cognoscere causas – to know the causes of things – I still get goosebumps remembering how much I wanted to belong there one day. The delicious smells of cinnamon and cardamom at La Fabrique bakery. The sizzling mystique of Watkins Books – London’s oldest esoteric bookshop (seriously, if you have any doubts about the existence of magic, you need to go there). Shops where you can buy your own broom (I can’t really confirm if they actually fly) or a perfect replica of The One Ring. A little paper lover heaven that is Blade Rubber stamp shop. A stunning traffic-stopping voice of a street performer. An intricate tiny river formed from raindrops on the window of a bus. A gorgeous design on the façade of a building. Hot cup of matcha in cold hands. Nearly stepping into a puddle and shifting the gaze up to meet someone’s beautiful smile. On and on and on. It was as if on every corner, at every step the entire city was conspiring to delight me, to please my senses, to surprise me.

More and more I am convinced – certain even – that this is the ease, the flow, the wonder with which our entire lives can be lived. That the whole point of it all is to stay in our alignment, trusting that through some grand mysterious orchestration of things everything always works out for us. Even when we choose the wrong metro, or get lost, or splashed, because you can never quite know what magic awaits you just around the corner or what you have just been saved from. No more of this per aspera ad astra – through hardship to the stars – madness. Life can feel so amazing with no extra effort, and no special circumstances are needed for this magic to reveal itself. Just a simple but consistent shift of focus from all those puddles and splashes, to everything that feels good, to all that awaits to delight you. That or in that shop right next to the brooms they had magic wands, you can always get yourself one of those.

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1 Comment
  1. Evelina 5 years ago

    Ah, your story is so soaked with authenticity, magic and beauty of life. Thank you so much for this amazing reminder of our inner power. ??❤

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