En Chantment, from the old French, originally Latin, meaning to be in a song.
John Singer Sargent, 1885.
From the dawn of time, humans have been entranced by the “song” of enchantment.
And creators, long inspired by enchantment, have used creative arts to communicate and give voice to the experience of enchantment for others to enjoy.
What Enchantment Does
Enchantment allures, enthrals, bewitches, spellbinds, engrosses, transfixes, captivates and sparks feelings of wonder, delight, charm, marvelling, fascination and joy.
Enchantment is an intensely vivid engagement with an enchanting other: a human being, an animal, a plant, a place, the arts, food, sport, sight, sound, smell, taste or texture.
“Enchanted moments cannot be sustained, yet they lay claim to us time and time again because we are alive and capable of wonder.”
Enchantment Can Be Invited But Not Commanded or Controlled
Two Men Contemplating the Moon, Caspar David Friedrich.
Daily, fleeting moments of enchantment flow around us if only we tune in to the world, go slow, pause, linger, and savour the enchanting encounter with all our senses.
As we linger and savour an enchanting encounter, time slows and expands.
We experience stillness and a deep connection with what is present.
In that moment our inner world is nourished and enriched.
Enchantment is Everywhere
Karl Nordstrom, Sweden, 1855-1923.
Enchanting moments are frequent, but sadly in our hectic buzzing world mostly overlooked and lost.
When we whizz around at a frenetic pace, entranced and distracted by screens and our busy minds, we are blind to the many potential moments of enchantment that could enrich and enliven our day.
Sadly we are impoverished for missing moments of everyday enchantment.
And as creators, we miss opportunities to feed and nourish our creativity with the experience of enchantment.
“Why out of all we have heard, seen, felt...do certain images recur, charged with emotion, rather than others?
The song of one bird, the leap of one fish...the scent of one flower, raindrops like jewels on green grass, vast thunderhead clouds reaching high into the sky.”
Backyard Enchantment
E.O. Grant wrote in his diary, on 23 March 1926, about a local chance encounter with enchantment:
Saw a farmer near Pattern, Maine, sitting on a snowdrift about fifteen feet high, surrounded by a hundred redpolls.
Birds perched on the farmer's head and shoulders. One sat on the knee.
The farmer told me that he had enjoyed the previous half hour more than any other period in his life.
When we get out of our heads and tune into the world around us, we will start to notice the many glimmering moments of enchantment floating around us in our backyard, at the beach, the local park or museum.
Moonrise, Clarice Beckett, 1930s.
All we need to do is tune in with our senses and deeply hear the birds, see the flaming sunset, and feel the cool breeze on our skin.
And when we catch that moment, pause, linger and deeply savour it, knowing it flows into and enriches our inner world.
The poet Mary Oliver was a virtuoso of noticing, capturing, and transforming enchanting encounters with nature into beautiful poetry.
“It doesn’t have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just
pay attention, then patch
a few words together and don’t try
to make them elaborate, this isn’t
a contest but the doorway
into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.”
Attitude of Fearless Receptivity
“The best attitude towards enchantment is fearless receptivity: neither a desire to extend one’s self or to lose one’s self - simply having the intention to pay attention, here and now, to whatever presents.”
Fearless receptivity is a creative way of being.
We cultivate fearless receptivity by tuning into the world, slowing down, noticing, lingering and savouring fleeting moments of enchantment.
Mill Pond, Maxfield Parrish, 1945.
Ultimately, the creator's job is to notice, capture, transform and share fleeting, seemingly mundane but enchanting, everyday moments with their audience.
An exemplar of fearless receptivity to enchantment is the master Haiku poet Matsuo Basho (1644-94).
Here are two examples of capturing and transforming a moment of enchantment into Haiku poetry.
“The temple bell stops-
but the sound keeps coming
out of the flowers.
What a stillness!
Deep into the rock sinks
the cicada’s shrill
”
I encourage you to notice, linger and savour the enchantment that inhabits and flows through your world.
And whatever your art form, communicate that enchanting encounter in your unique creative way and gift your audience an enchanting encounter.
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