Enchantment
An antidote to the chaos
A cartoon
A thought
Enchantment: a feeling of great pleasure; delight.
I had an early start one morning this week and drove to town, into the sunrise. The sun brushed every leaf, grass stalk and mountain range with a sliver of golden light. All twinkling in the twisting mist. I think I must have held my breath all the way.
We all need more enchantment. At a workshop with
a few weeks ago, she invited us to write an enchantment list, all those wonderful large and small things that make life delightful, that give us a “warm hum of wellbeing”: Birds, the soft noses of creatures, bright colours, hugs, laughing, winter, sparkling frost, drawing, feeling cosy, autumn leaves, coffee, ingenuity, care, cakes and custard tarts, doggos, weathered faces, kind eyes, the ocean.Whatever is on your list, most of these things are here every day, whatever the noise and chaos we find ourselves in. Really, enchantment is a string of glimmers noticed regularly.
Below, a graph of the frequency of use, of the word enchantment, across time. Is it any wonder it bottomed out in 1980? This gives me hope we are collectively waking up from the capitalist-induced amnesia about our true nature.
Wishing you enchantment today!
Glimmers and sparks*
My glimmers for today are:
Catching up with an old friend on zoom.
A feeling of satisfaction at pulling off a tricky, tricky job.
Doggo cuddles in the evening.
Li’l bean is your reminder to pause and ask: What are your glimmers for today?
From your friend and your small, steadfast companion,
*Drawing Li’l Bean helped me navigate out of a period of depression in 2023. A good friend 13, 595km away, helped, too, through a ritual of swapping daily glimmers via text.
A glimmer is a tiny spark of hope, enthusiasm or joy that lifts your heart. By helping me find three glimmers each day, she gently helped me see the joy and beauty already around me.
I’d like to share this practice with you and invite you to reflect on your glimmers for the day when you read this. Think of Li’l Bean as a reminder to notice the glimmers and sparks in your life. We’d love it if you would like to share your glimmers in the comments or by hitting reply (if you don’t like sharing publicly).
Amen Gillian. This is a wonderful description ..."enchantment is a string of glimmers noticed regularly". My glimmer this week on the road to enchantment is 20 grapefruit growing strongly on a 4 year old tree that to this point managed only one or two. I think it finally found it's sweet spot. 🙂
Thank you Gillian. Each morning as I am walking I make my way through what I call my Alphabet of Aspirations (the Buddhist meaning not the capitalist one!). Reminding myself of how I wish to be and also what I wish to be open to. It's also a wish for all beings. Every letter has ever-increasing words except for 'x'. Words like carefreeness, ease, kindness, quiet (inside & out), trust - and now, thank you, enchantment 💫
My glimmer today was a bee landing on my spoon as I ate my breakfast on the balcony and thinking for a long time whether it wanted to try my porridge (yes, even in summer I have porridge for breakfast😅). I was happy to share but she decided actually flowers are more her thing.