Author: Lowry W. Mell

We aren’t talking about the slight of hand of the magician nor the wizardry of Merlin. We are talking about the kind of magic we wanted to believe in when we were kids.

When we watch Tinker Bell fly across our TV screen leaving a trail of sparkling fairy dust, we immediately transfer ourselves to that magical

zone of enchantment. That enchantment zone may be different for each of us. It could be one of joy, or happiness, or tranquility, or anticipation or a host of things that you

could name for yourself. So where is the magic in a crystal figurine?

I discovered the answer over ten years ago while reluctantly shopping with my wife and mother-in-law at a local mall. As we passed a beautiful gift store, my mother-in-law, closely followed by my wife, made a bee-line straight for a glass display case just inside the entrance. They were in there for quite awhile, then came out and said they had a few more things to get.

While my ladies continued shopping the other stores, I rested on a bench outside the

gift shop. I was amazed at how many people walked by the entrance, saw the display case and walked in for a closer look.

Finally, I couldn’t stand it any longer. I had

to go into that store to find out what was the big attraction that lured so many people to that glass case. The case held somewhere between twenty and thirty beautifully and expertly crafted crystal animals and crystal figurines.

With so many figurines in such a small area, the case had a glowing effect with rays of light jumping in all different directions. I was at

first stunned by this very powerful display and then settled in to admire the fine detail and workmanship of the individual pieces.

Surprisingly, I found myself in a strange zone, one I only experience when I;m in a home improvement store looking at tools and imagining all the projects I could do with them. Imagine a grown man standing at a glass display case, mesmerized by the beauty and workmanship of the crystal figurines, thinking so and so would like this one and that one would be a great gift for so and so;.That’s not a zone most men are accustomed to experiencing. I was enchanted!

A few minutes later a young woman came to the case looking carefully at each crystal animal while softly cooing to herself. After a few minutes of oohhs and aahhs, I said, “Judging by the sounds you’re making, you really like these. Without looking up, she answered, “Oh yes, I love crystal animals, they’re great collectibles.<

Curious, I then asked what attracted her to them. She looked up, smiled and said, “It’s the sparkle in crystal, it’s like magic. I pondered that comment for awhile, not really understanding what she meant.

A few months later, I gave a friend a crystal cat figurine. When she opened the crystal gift she fell into that moment of enchantment. We all could see it on her face. She said when she

opened the box she saw the sparkle before she realized it was crystal and was overwhelmed by the beauty of the figurine. That was her magical moment and I finally understood the experience.

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There is magic in a crystal animal figurine. Like fairy dust, magic is in the sparkle, and the sparkle is in the crystal