ignore work and explore was daunting. There wasn’t enough time in the day to take it all in — the specialty boutiques with their alluring windows, the old-school delis with their appetizing specialties, and the museums with the latest in modern art. But it was on a subway ride heading for one of said destinations that I was filled with wonder. A caped man boarded my train car, and asked me if I believed in magic. I was skeptical, but curious, so this stranger proceeded to demonstrate sleight-of-hand card tricks not even a foot away from my eyes. It was incredible. I was perplexed by what I believed to be real, and what was actually occurring right in front of me. This blip of a moment reminded me that life can still offer surprises, and sometimes in the daily patterns of my existence I overlook the magic that can simply spring up out of nowhere.
Once, I even gained perspective before I had boarded the plane. My adventure hadn’t even really started when I noticed a young boy crying in the international terminal of the airport. He was waving goodbye to his grandmother who was waiting in the security line. Every now and then grandma would wave back to the child, which made him sob even more. Spying the anguish caused by the departure of his loved one, I couldn’t help but make a mental note to come home and cherish my family that at least I have geographically within a few hours time zone, compared to this delicate young boy whose distance from his grandmother was too great to bear.