Following a recent health scare (I’m incredibly grateful for a speedy and thorough NHS investigation), I’m deeply relieved, and even more obsessed with experiencing the fullness of life. Finding the magic, the enchantment, every day and the reverence of it all. The feeling of the rain and wind, wet and cold (and WILD this week!), reminding me I’m alive. Feeling each drop and gust, rather than just huddling against it, marvelling in it. The earthy, old, deep smell of autumn. The hibernating wasp in my boot! The way the moss on my cherry tree has revived after the summer drought, now springy and luxuriant and so alive…. MAGIC! I love the poem above and Sharon Blackie’s work on this. What better moment to share her Enchantment manifesto, on Samhain. As the days shorten sometimes we all need to seek out the magic in our lives. Poetry, nature and restorative practices help me connect with enchantment. I also believe, as she does, that enchantment (like rest) is really about greater awareness and waking up. Waking up to what we really want, the life we want for ourselves, our children, our future. And making choices that take us towards that, not further away from it.
“Moonlit, root-deep and wildly unafraid” – that’s how I want to live – how about you?
It’s not the easy path but for me, it starts with being rested, replenished, filled up. From there I can be softer, more compassionate, present, connected to what really matters. Able to pause, respond, not react. To know deeply what I care about, and what I don’t. And then having the focus of mind to make active choices in that direction. All my offerings aim to support us all in this way, because really, at the end of the day, in the words of Ram Dass “we’re all just walking each other home”.