E is for Enchantment: a mystical induction of bewildered beauty and wonder. Some might even claim that to be enchanted is to be exposed to a magical obsession outside the realm of free-will. The dictionary defines "enchant" as: 1. to delight to a high degree, or 2. to impart a magic quality or effect to. I believe in enchantment, myself, and I believe that it is both highly delightful and magical. I also believe that each of us should allow ourselves a bit of enchantment every single day (or night) of our lives.
The one thing I don't believe about enchantment is that it is hiding within a witch's brew or a wizard's wand just waiting to be cast upon some unsuspecting recipient, and while I might believe in bits and pieces of "magical obsession," I do not believe that any of it operates without our full participation and acknowledgment. Enchantment is not something that is done to us; it is something we do to ourselves. It is something that we let happen in our own sense of time and space and wonder. But just as spending endless days sitting against the base of a tree down by the pond kissing random frogs has never once rendered a Prince Charming, we can't just sit around waiting for the feeling of enchantment to come along and ask our permission to enliven and inspire us, either. We have to seek it, and once found, we have to welcome the beauty, the "magic," to come in. We have to allow ourselves to see all the things that are anxiously waiting to carry us away in a moment of sheer awe, but we have to open more than our eyes to be enchanted in this way; we have to open our souls and our hearts (not the blood-pumping organ, but the life-enhancing essence), thereby allowing the super-human power of imagination that lurks within us to flourish and mingle with our very existence.
As for me, I find enchantment in the night sky. Not every night. Though I go outside every night to admire the speckled dome of hieroglyphs above me, I do not always see beyond the obvious beauty to the hidden meaning and wonderment, because the jagged edges of life tend to distract me more often than not, making it difficult to impart myself with the openness required to consistently experience the magic. I also find -when I can- enchantment in the interaction of children (well, enchantment and astonishment). I find enchantment -almost always- near the ocean. There is something about the ocean that assists -with a gentle ease- in opening my heart and soul, helping me to let its holiest of elements pour over me as the waves pour over each other with a playful, but powerful Truth. I know, too, that I am not the only one that has this special relationship with the ocean. I don't know why it is, but some places are more magical than others, and therefore easier to "access." Mountains, for instance: I would find it hard to believe that any one could stand atop a mountain and not feel the absolute majesty that lives there. But, even still, it is up to us to bring it forth and allow it to fill the open parts of us with its secrets.
The best and biggest part about all of this is that once we realize just how we control the enchanting moments of our lives, it will soon follow that we come to understand that WE have been the magic all along.
