Magic

I'm not talking about sleight of hand or illusion. I'm talking about those moments in life where you are overwhelmed by feeling or emotion unexpectedly.

And not just typical day to day joys like the sound of a child's laughter or a gift from a co-worker of chocolate or Diet Coke on a hard day.

I'm talking about that song that touches your soul or a movie that transports you to someplace other. That book that engulfs you so fully into it that your heart breaks a little when it's over.

I love these moments.

And I love storms.

I had one of the most magical moments in my life during a freak thunder and lightning storm on the same day that I chose to go see "The Red Violin" at a movie theater a few towns over.

The storm was so bad that you could hear it raging from inside and it knocked the power off for a few seconds during the movie. It didn't matter to me. I loved The Red Violin so much that it transported me. I was still in it's thrall when I drove away.

I have never seen anything in my life as powerful and glorious as I saw that night.

My route home took me along foothills with an unobstructed view of The San Francisco Bay as lightning danced across its waters. It was nature's fireworks show with blinding sheets and forks of lightning illuminating the night sky in staccato bursts of light and sound. Rain pelted my car so hard that I couldn't hear anything, but that didn't matter because Joshua Bell's violin was still playing in my head.

I didn't stop to watch the storm because I felt like I was part of it, racing down the highway, chasing some unknown quarry for the joy and exhilaration of it.

I revel in these unexpected adventures.