The term ‘enchanted’ is often used to describe a feeling of being captivated or entranced by something beautiful or magical. In fact, the Latin root of ‘enchanted’ is incantare, meaning “cast a spell on”. To be enchanted is to be bewitched. Think back to your 5-year-old self where everything seemed magical and enchanting. As we get older and are ‘educated’, we begin to question the things we once believed in, we begin to look at things with skeptism, with less wonder, and become disenchanted.
Over a century ago German sociologist, Max Weber, suggested that the modern emphasis on reason had bled the world of mystery and transcendence. He used the word ‘entzauberung’, literally meaning ‘the breaking of a magic spell’. But, to be dis-enchanted, we have to have been enchanted in the first place. When we disassemble something, it must already be assembled, we disconnect connected things, we disassociate with those we formerly associated with, we dispel a spell. This may be the closest thing disenchanted, nullifying a spell or magic enchantment.
There is a familiar narrative that the emergence of modernity has resulted in a ‘disenchantment’, particularly of nature. We have ceased to view nature as an integrally meaningful order, we assume that nature is devoid of mystery and is completely accessible to our understanding; we no longer find nature ‘sacred’, worthy of reverence or dread. The intense emotions of awe, joy, amazement, and reverence are increasingly rare in our world today, despite the fact that they can lead to a new and profound understanding of the meaning of life and the secret of happiness.
Glimmers of awe, wonder, magic and enchantment can switch our perspective to one where the world feels more alive, where we shift from being the main actors to appreciating that we are all part of life’s rich tapestry, we are interconnected. We need to find a way to express our interconnectedness with the rest of humanity.
Living a life of re-enchantment takes courage: courage to pause, reflect, learn and pay attention to the world around us. Moments of wonder are hidden beneath the surface, it takes intention and deliberate action before we can seamlessly weave this sense of wonder into our lives. For many, the search of awe and wonder has become a quest to re-enchant the world.
“Our sense of enchantment is not triggered only by grand things; the sublime is not hiding in distant landscapes. The awe-inspiring, the numinous, is all around us, all the time. It is transformed by our deliberate attention. It becomes valuable when we value it. It becomes meaningful when we invest in it with meaning. The magic is of our own conjuring…If we wait passively to become enchanted, we could wait a long time.”
– Katherine May
So awaken your inner 5-year-old, find the awe-inspiring, the magic of the everyday.
Become re-enchanted with the world.
#enchanted
#re-enchanted
#InterconnectedWorld
Suggested reading:
The Enchanted Life: Unlocking the Magic of the Everyday – Sharon Blackie
Awe: The Transformative Power of Everyday Wonder – Dacher Keltner
Enchantment: Reawakening wonder in an exhausted age – Katherine May
Photo by Lightscape on Unsplash