How To Find Enchantment In Your Daily Living

A word I’ve been loving lately is enchantment.

*cue Enchanted by Taylor Swift*

To be enchanted is to be “utterly delighted, fascinated, or captivated by something, often with a sense of wonder or magic. It implies being charmed or spellbound, as if under a magical influence.”

You may read this and think of the popular trends going around social media of ‘romanticizing your life’, where you take the everyday habits you do and add a sense of play, delight, joy, and presence to them. This idea is rooted in a way of living that shifts our gaze so that the mundane becomes magical. As we take our daily habits and infuse them with delight and presence, we begin to learn more about who we are— who God made us to be— and to honour the truth of our joys, our delights, the things that make us slow down and be captivated by the moment so that it feels like enough.

God enchants me on the daily. 

With the songs of birds, with cats, with rainbows, with delicious tea and watercolour paints, with wearing jewelry and prints and patterns I love, to noticing the most subtle shifts of colours of leaves on trees that cue how autumn will come. To be enchanted by God is to give in to the magic of the present. It’s to step back with awe washing over you and consider the beauty and delight of this. Single. Moment. 

I’ve been enchanted by God since I was a child.
Captivated by the milky way and fireflies.
Sensing the magic of love.

My ‘background show’ these days has been the series Once Upon A Time.
In this show, the most powerful magic that can break any curse is true love (and, well, yes, true love’s kiss, but let’s keep in mind that true love’s kiss can be shared as a kiss between lovers and a kiss on the forehead of friends or family).

True Love— sounds like God to me.
To be enchanted by God is to render yourself as one who has found true love.
One who is loved beyond measure.
One who sees the world through the lens of creative love, which causes the world around you to stir with enchantment that feels tangible. Like you can reach out and touch the silky soft petal of a flower and feel like you’re holding hands with God. To be enchanted by God is knowing that Love is what conquers. That hate will not prevail. That all the little things, like a morning cup of tea with a slice of toasted sourdough slathered with (vegan) butter is infused with all the magic of creation in every sip and every bite. That to notice the call of a bird is to hear love singing. That to love is to live into purpose. To be present to the enchantment of daily living is to look at the goodness around you as gifts laid out by the God who made you. And to notice the injustice that cries out and be love there.

While we think of infusing our days with enchantment, of romanticizing our life, it can be a way to draw closer to God. To move from acknowledging ‘my delight’ to also considering ‘God’s delight’. Can you imagine God beside you, sipping a cup of your favourite tea with you, and smiling after that first sip? Could the joy shared between you feel palpable in that moment? Do you imagine God feeling full of delight because YOU are experiencing delight? That God is joyful because you, God’s precious creation, is experiencing a feeling so wonderful? 

Living with enchantment is a life full of presence, of curiosity, of delight. It invites us to softness and slowness, to self and God discovery, and is a place of renewal so we can live in the world and drop magical pearls of love everywhere we go. It’s a form of resistance to a world that tells us to be someone different to find a sense of purpose, it builds resilience so we can show up authentically in the world and empower others to do the same, and it heightens our awareness of where the magic is barely hanging on, so we can go love the place, the people, the situations, back to their fullest.

Here are a few simple ways I weave enchantment into my daily living to live a more presence-filled life.

• 1. Reuse pretty tea tins to organize my drawers

While those clear plastic drawer organizers might fit ‘perfectly’ into drawers of every single size, the beautiful empty tea tins saved from a friend gifting tea are both beautiful, functional, and a reminder of friendship. It cuts down on feeling pressured into consumerism, and brings a smile to my face every time I see them, extending gratitude for tea time with friends.

• 2. Hang a bird feeder.

The slippery slope into bird watching happens quickly, but my golly it’s delightful. With a bird feeder outside the window, hearing birdsong and watching the personalities of birds as they visit day in and day out becomes a moment of enchantment. From seeing new birds (so fun) to watching birds share food, to even seeing the squirrels arrive for a snack, the joy and community at the feeders feels like a slice of heaven on earth.

• 3. Let crystals catch the sunlight.

Rainbows all over the walls? Yes please! When a crystal catches the light and projects a kaleidoscope of ethereal rainbows all around you, enchantment soars. Plain walls are artful, and seeing how the rainbows change places throughout the seasons invites you to reflect on your own seasonal dance.

• 4. Bring the outside in.

Clipped flowers from a friends garden, a $5 bouquet from the grocery store, or even treating yourself to a bouquet making day invites the meditative work of working with your hands, the beauty of God’s creation, and your own creative energy together for something to brighten up the room you walk into.

• 5. Fiction before bed.

A carefree, fun, fiction read (with a dose of magic) before bed calms the mind and invites you into a wonder-filled land where anything is possible. To end your day with the softness of a feel-good read is better than doom-scrolling or reading the news and eases you into a more restful state. Add in a time of examen with God and sleep comes gracefully.

• 6. The mug, the cup, the bowl, the spoon.

Using utensils you ENJOY throughout the day adds enchantment and wonder to every sip and every bite. I’m a big fan of seasonal mugs— a black cat mug all autumn long, a Santa mug over Christmas, and a cat mug the rest of the year, brings joy every time I open my tea cupboard and prepare a morning mug of Earl Grey or an afternoon matcha or hot chocolate (hot chocolate year round is always a good idea). I have a favourite spoon to use with my beverages, too.

• 7. The dance, the twirl, the movement.

Find a window and look. Watch the wind move the trees, rustling leaves and creating a chorus of soil-bound, wind-infused, composition. Watch how leaves in various colours simply fall from the trees even when the wind is deep in sleep. Imagine yourself dancing with the pastel petals of flowers as they drift to the ground, and notice the grandeur that feels immense in stillness. Contemplate how God thought the world needed all of this (and you, too) and let it fill you with wonder.

Never underestimate the power of the smallest things that bring a sense of delight into your every day moments— they have the power to remind you of God’s continual presence, lift your spirits, and radiate love and gratitude to the world around you, cultivating glimpses of heaven on earth.