Simple Ways to Nourish Yourself with Nature's Magic

Have you ever searched for 4 leaf clovers? I remember trying to find them as a child (unsuccessfully) and coming to the conclusion that they are a myth. Boy was I wrong. My dear friend Susie finds them every summer. 

Have you ever found a 4 leaf clover? Was it crazy exciting for you? Did you preserve it in a book or journal, maybe write down the date? Did you begin watching for lucky things happening in your life? After all, the 4 leaf clover is THE symbol for luck. Well, ok, it's not the only symbol, but it's a biggy.

These finds are safe and sound taped down with clear cellophane tape.

It's a Rare Thing.

According to scientific research, 4 leaf clovers occur only once in 5,000 stems. Talk about a needle in a haystack. Maybe its the rarity of finding one that has earned it's reputation for luck and magic. We cherish rare things like fine antiques, one of a kind original art, or atelier made clothing, and we attribute these things with a high value but not luck or magic. It's easy to see how 4 leaf clovers could beckon someone to search for them and even be persistent in that search. Is that what prompts my friend to pursue them?

I used the tiniest smidgen of Susie's collection to create this image.

In the Beginning....

There was cake. More precisely birthday cake decorated with 4 leaf clovers and swirly stems made of icing. Who knows what prompted Susie's Mom to choose this theme for her daughter (although her birthday is in the vicinity of St. Patrick's Day), but it sparked a life long quest. 

Maybe Susie's Mom instilled a sense a of being a lucky girl as a child, and if so, it certainly stuck with her. Maybe nobody told her how hard it is to find them. All I can tell you is that she finds them with the greatest ease. 

Picture if You Will...

A woman happily walking through a grassy park and finding a nice spot to sit down. Moments later she is picking something close by. And boom, just like that she has her first 4 leaf clover of the day. There's no searching the ground as she walks along, she does not appear to be searching at all, only casting her eyes about as we all would. Can it really be that easy? 

When asked how she does it, Susie says that the 4 leaf clovers just pop their little heads up as she walks along. They are like tiny little flags on her path, joyfully waving at her. Seriously? Yup, you betcha. I have seen her do it over and over. And once she picks a spot to sit and enjoy the sun and watch the birds and butterflies flitting around her, she will reach over and pick a few more. 

But Wait, There's More.

I have tried to emulate this behaviour. I'll go out in my garden where there is a ton of clover, and tell myself they will just pop their little heads up for me. And I'll even try to be very casual about it, no big deal, this is easy. Guess what? It almost never works. 

But if Susie is with me, we can go to the same spot and all she has to do is tell me to look. And I find 4 leaf clovers. Every time. 

Children often come up to Susie when she is in a park to ask what she is doing. These younglings are invited to join her in the clover and soon discover a prize to take home. I wonder how many children over the years have run home clutching their find with a story about the lady in the park. She is sometimes surrounded by little kids, always passing on the gift. 

Photo taken by Susie of a 4 leaf clover she spotted while in Florence. 

Susie does a fair bit of travelling and apparently this magic follows her. Her collection contains clover from almost everywhere she has visited.  

So What's Her Secret?

I have a very practical answer to the question. Practice, practice, practice. We get really good at the things we do over and over. We get so good at it that it appears to happen effortlessly. I know, that's a boring, unromantic answer, but it's also not the whole truth. While it explains how she got so good at spotting 4 leaf clovers, it does not explain the spillover effect or the truly enchanted life she lives.

Susie let me borrow a few years worth of her clover collection so that I could photograph it. I was unprepared for the sheer volume of clover, and astounded by the beauty of her little books. They remind me of a jewel collection, each filled with magic.

How To Bring Enchantment into Your Life

I promise I'll tell you in a sec, but first you need to understand why I picked Susie as my poster child for an enchanted life. You see, finding 4 leaf clovers is just the tip of the iceberg. I have never met another person who is so invariably lucky and blessed. In all areas of her life. Wonderful things and experiences seem to simply fall in her lap. Nature speaks to her, people love her on sight, folks just give her stuff. When she sets her sights on attaining something, whether a new skill, a new home or a trip abroad, the pieces will fall into place for her. 

This does not mean she hasn't had her share of hard times and unfortunate events, what life doesn't after all. But she bounces back, every time.

We have been friends for almost 40 years, so I have had time to watch and learn from her. Here is what I think it takes:

1. Start noticing 4 leaf clovers, or choose something else you'd LOVE and have fun collecting. Keep your eyes open and find as much as you can. Let the finding be your proof. Empirical evidence that you too can harness this magic. Live near the beach? Start searching for a very specific type of shell. In the city? Look for loose change or gum wrappers. Out in the country? How many butterflies can you spot in one season? Choose anything...a word even. See if it come up on signs, in books online. 

2. Expect good things. If you have begun collecting your chosen thing, you already know that its as though you are drawing them to yourself. So draw in more some good stuff. It doesn't have to be specific, just wake every day expecting amazing things to happen. And notice when they do.

3. Once you start noticing all the good things that are arriving...write it down. Tell people about it. Post it on Instagram or FaceBook.  Tell your Mom, tell everyone. Don't just think it's cool and move on. Speak about it, write about it, share it.

4. Have as much fun and take as much joy as you can muster from all the good things that happen. Joyfully share the wealth by giving some of it away. OMG...that will make you feel so good. 

5. The real key is that once you begin and the flow of enchantment is in your life, it will spread. Like Susie, you will be spilling it over onto everyone around you. You'll find yourself in a boring meeting anticipating wonderful things...any and all wonderful things, and suddenly the meeting isn't so boring. Grocery shopping becomes a quest for delight. Cleaning the house is a dance with the fairies. 

Wishing you bucketfuls of magic,

Cheers,

Laura

PS: A note for Susie: Thank you for inspiring me everyday. Thank you for sharing the gift of Joy. Thank you for sharing this journey.

I love you.