In a world that is anxious and filled with a lack of self-awareness, each day seems to go by faster and faster, with less and less meaning. Without the small moments of wonder and memories that you thought you had, how do you find yourself? Existing just to make it to the next day, lost and not sure where to go, or going through mundane routines without any real connection? This is an age where we doom scroll through hours in seconds; there never seem to be enough hours in the day and what we do have, we waste away without realizing it.
Sometimes I like to go outdoors, and other times I find myself looking for a good book, one that gently urges me to pause. One that brings me to a slower pace, remembering to breathe and forget the busier side of life. Katherine May’s Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age is exactly that kind of book. It doesn’t demand change from you; however, it does ease you into what you didn’t realize you were missing. As you read it, you will find more depth for moments that do not need to be captured or shared, but rather experienced.
More than Just Existing
I approached this book with curiosity, and what I found was a subtle reawakening, a relatable sense of doing more than just existing. It invites your memories to resurface, wrapping around you like a warm blanket or the serene feeling you experience watching a sunrise. It brings your mind to quieter places within yourself that you have neglected or forgotten were there. You may be feeling anxious, or like you are waiting for something yet nothing at all.
May doesn’t just write about wonder, and this is far from a whimsical book, so do not let the title mislead you. This book is one that brings you to not only your core, but the author’s core as well. She goes deep into her childhood memories, and from there takes you through a journey in life that is all too familiar. I am almost willing to bet that anyone at all in today’s anxious and fast paced world would find something they too can relate to or have forgotten about.
Anxious or Dormant?
While we are learning about May’s experiences from childhood up, we find more and more comparable memories to our own in her shared experiences. We also tend to find ourselves wondering when we stopped noticing and allowing ourselves to experience certain things. I still can smell salt in the air as I near an ocean, catching a whiff of that ocean water. Sometimes, I even can feel in the air when rain is coming, even seeing leaves on plants turn skyward, eager for the drops to fall.
Things like this, moments of sensory perception and awareness, are dulled out in today’s day in age. One can’t really pinpoint when they stopped being aware of these things, like the glimpse of that rainbow prism through the water hose or sprinkler. It isn’t a secret, this generation and several one’s prior are plagued with feelings of being anxious and more. However, are we anxious, or are we dormant? Or are we both, with today’s world and the people in it pushing one another further away from the everyday simplistic magic around them?
A Road Map Back to Solace
One of the biggest things I took from this read was that we, as in all of us, are wrapped up in a modern disconnection. This book is not just your average self-reflective read, but one that makes us stop and realize things. Relating to the pages, giving us an insight on our lives and how to notice things we forgot existed, instead of focusing solely on technology. Even if you are not anxious, chances are your phone or technology rules most of your time.
Cell phones, tablets, computers, smart watches, you name it! In today’s very tech-based world, it is absolutely okay to use and enjoy using any of these techie things in general. However, it is consuming us so much that we don’t go outside even for some fresh air and forget to notice the world and things around us. Locking ourselves in can cause us to feel anxious yes, but even worse, disconnected from nearly everything and everyone.
Healing, or Acknowledging?
May never preaches in this book but does stay in a steady walk as you read through the it. By acknowledging the weight of modernized depression, disconnection, and the feeling of being lost or anxious, she makes a connection with you. For many, the world of nature is a source of healing, or a symbol to just slow down. Some even take tech free trips or days in today’s era, and this book does that all on its own.
So, for you, this could either be a read for healing, or just simply acknowledging where the world has a disconnection to slowing down, so to speak. You might not even realize until you read this book, that you also have shifted away from natural and gentle moments in life. When is the last time you went outside for a walk, or to a local park?
My Final Thoughts
While this May’s book is not a “fix” for feeling anxious, or lost, it is quite an experience. I highly encourage you to take the time to pick this book up for your next read or add this to your read list. By the end of the book, I found myself remembering the small clouds of your breath showing on colder days and missing the time I used to spend admiring the moon on nights at a local lake.
If anything, you’ll go on a journey with someone who brings you the soft release, like you have been holding your breath for too long. A wake-up call of sorts, that you are not waiting for something, you just have to remember something other than doom scrolling. This will be one of those books I find myself recommending and also gifting it to others.
