Lost in Life? The Unexpected Moments That Lead You Home - Practical-Magick

The Messy Middle: Where the Magick of Transformation Happens

Have you ever set off on an adventure, sure of where you were headed—only to have everything shift in ways you never saw coming?

I get it.

The Magick You Can’t Plan For

I stood enchanted on the ruins of PhuyupatamarcaI –ancient ruins along the Inca Trail in Peru.

It was late, and the sky was impossibly clear. The kind of clear you only get when you’re high in the mountains—8,900 feet high, to be exact—and miles away from the nearest village.

The moon hung low over the ruins, washing the ancient stones in silver light. Mist curled over the terraces, rising from the valley below like veils of time, sliding between the stones, caressing the landscape with ethereal fingers.

Above me, the stars were so bright—so thick—that it felt like I could reach up and drink them in.

I stood there, surrounded by the echoes of a civilization long gone, feeling small in the best possible way.

The air was alive with a stillness so deep it hummed in my bones.

Even the voices of my fellow trekkers faded away to nothing, like magick.

Standing there, wrapped in that stillness, I felt like I’d stepped out of time, like I was part of something vast and unseen.

Or in a scene from The Lord of the Rings.

It felt sacred.

My whole body hummed. I felt connected to the stars!

It was the third night of my five-day trek along the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, the bucket-list wonder beloved by people around the world. I could hardly wait to stand amidst the ruins of Machu Picchu itself.

I expected to feel even more of a sacred connection there, to sense the souls of all the pilgrims who had sought the wisdom of the ancients since the Incas fashioned the citadel in the 15th Century.

When Expectations Meet Reality

Instead? Machu Picchu was beautiful.

But in comparison, it felt like a tourist destination. Even though we were allowed in before the throngs of people arrived by train, there were already hundreds of visitors milling about, cameras clicking, voices echoing against the stones.

I kept waiting for that same feeling to hit me—that deep, wordless connection.

But it never did.

And while standing on its terraces makes for great bragging rights, when I look back on that trek, it isn’t Machu Picchu that sends a thrill through my bones.

It’s Phuyupatamarca that I remember with wonder.

That night, wrapped in silver light and silence, stays with me.

When the Journey Surprises You

Isn’t it funny how we set our sights on something—convinced that’s the thing we want—only to get there and realize it was never about the destination at all?

👉 Maybe that’s where you are right now. You thought you knew what your life was supposed to look like—who you were supposed to be—but everything has shifted. Now, the path ahead feels uncertain, like you’re wandering through the mist, waiting for clarity that never quite arrives.

👉 Maybe you feel paralyzed, exhausted, unsure of what step to take next. Or maybe you’ve spent so long trying to be who others expect you to be that you don’t even know what you want anymore.

👉 And I know—it’s tempting to want the answers now. To just skip ahead to the part where it all makes sense.

👉 But what if the magick is already unfolding? Right here. In this in-between space. Even if you can’t see it yet.

We think it’s about reaching the summit, crossing the finish line, arriving at the dream job, the perfect relationship, the life-changing moment.

But more often, it’s about something else entirely.

A feeling we didn’t expect.

A moment we couldn’t have planned.

A serendipitous turn that leads us somewhere even better.

And we only see it looking back—the way the journey itself was quietly reshaping us, showing us what we really wanted all along.

When You’re in the Messy Middle

For the women I work with, this desire for clarity often comes in the messy middle. When everything feels uncertain. When the life they thought they wanted has crumbled, or when they’re stuck in a fog of doubt, exhaustion, and self-questioning.

It’s easy to think, If I could just get there—if I could just feel confident again, if I could just know for sure what’s next—then I’d be okay.

But what if the magick is unfolding right now?

In the moments you can’t yet see as turning points? In the unexpected whispers of intuition, the tiny sparks of curiosity, the glimpses of wonder that catch you off guard?