one shining moment. i tried to ask my friend if she'd had any magic moments with this particular (platonic) guy friend of hers. the conversation devolved into defining what exactly a "magic moment" was. to me, a magic moment is a combination of coincidence and connection. like when you are sitting around with a friend and you both break out with the exact same line of an obscure song that both of you had treasured since middle school -- and you felt like nobody else knew that song. and then you look at each other and wonder how you did that. and then you think to yourself "wow, that could not have happened with anyone else, or at any other time, except now." that's the rough definition of a magic moment.

note that a magic moment differs from a memorable moment. many things are memorable, but not everything is magic. and the thing about magic moments is that there is no recipe or way of anticipating them. some people seem to think that all of their magic moments happen in the company of their significant others. while this could certainly be very likely, for me personally, the bulk of my magic moments occur with friends, not girlfriends. this could say more about me than magic moments, but i digress. strangely, having a high number of magic moments with someone is not necessarily an indicator of a close or treasured friendship. i've never experienced a magic moment with most of my best friends while i've had maybe two or three with a friend that i wouldn't necessarily have on my speed dial. magic moments are completely random. part of the reason why they're so great.

magic moments aren't even particularly memorable sometimes. like if you reference a trip to europe with a friend, you might remember the memorable moments more than any magic moments. but during a magic moment, the world stops, and both of you realize that something fantastic just happened -- even if that feeling flys away in the next eye blink.

i've also realized that in trying to get my friends to speak about their magic moments that most magic moments can't be shared or explained. the magical part is hard to explain and often the stories conclude with the listeners going "oh, that was it? that was your magic moment?" so treasure your magic moments, because nobody but you and him/her/they will get it.