Currently Feeling: Enchanted
Why romanticizing your life feels forced (and why enchantment is the real magic)
Currently Feeling is a newsletter about what it means to be alive and creatively well in a world that constantly overstimulates, flattens, and disconnects us from ourselves.
I write about re-incorporating beauty, awe, wonder, and play into our lives as essential practices for tending to our creativity and reconnecting with what makes us feel most human.
You know those moments that just stop you mid-scroll, mid-sip, mid-sentence, and make you go, “Wait… this is kinda magical”?
I keep noticing them more these days in weird, delightful, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it kind of ways.
Like the other day when I saw a chef create a plate of lamb with a puff of cotton candy on top.
(More on that in a sec)
I used to think I needed to “romanticize my life” to feel this way or force these moments into existence. Light a candle, drink my matcha out of a cute cup, take a bath. You know the drill. But it always felt a little… forced. And although the moments I would create were nice, it didn’t actually make me fall in love with my life more.
Then I found something that did.
The word — and feeling — that made me ditch “romanticizing my life”
Lately I’ve been watching Eva Longoria’s show Searching for Spain.
The first episode I caught was when she was exploring Catalonia. At one point she visits Fina Puigdevall, the owner and Head Chef of Les Cols d'Olot. Fina is a pioneer of ‘volcanic cuisine’ where she creates dishes inspired by the rich volcanic soil that surrounds their restaurant. One of the dishes Fina serves Eva is a lamb dish that represents the lifecycle of the lamb:
First, she lays down a green hollandaise “meadow” and a layer of lettuce that the lambs feed on. Then sweet breads to represent the lamb’s digestive process. After plating a piece of lamb atop the “meadow,” she places a ball of white cotton candy to represent the wool.
Oh my god, this is one of the most enchanting plates of food I’ve ever been served! says Eva.
I was enchanted too — by the story, the level of detail, the care, the artistry, the creativity…
But that word ‘enchanted’ stuck with me most.
You’ve probably heard the phrase “romanticize your life.” And while I love the intention, something about it never sat right. When I try to romanticize my own life, it feels performative. Like I’m forcing a vibe.
When I recently looked up the definition of “romanticize” I understood why:
Ro·man·ti·cize: to make something seem better or more appealing than it really is.
Bingo.
Enchantment, on the other hand, is different.
Enchantment is where the real magic happens
Enchantment is to feel great pleasure or delight. It’s not about appearances — it’s about aliveness. It’s the feeling of being genuinely moved without trying to be. It doesn’t demand effort. It just asks for presence. And that’s exactly what came through when Eva was presented with that special dish. She actually felt delighted.
You might hear the word “enchantment” and think it only comes via some huge, life-changing or revelatory experience (kinda like the way we think of ‘awe’). But it doesn’t always show up in big, dramatic ways.
Sometimes it’s just a cutie ‘lil wink from the universe.
If you’re anything like me, you waterhose yourself with content, rush through days, and miss those little spark-pings of life. It’s no wonder we’re overstimulated and starved for meaning.
Noticing what makes you feel enchanted is one way to reclaim agency through presence — a tiny, steady trickle that tells your brain: this is what makes us feel alive.
What makes you say, “Whoa"?
So here’s what I’m doing (and you’re totally welcome to jump in!): noticing the tiny sparks.
Keeping my eyes peeled for anything that gives me that little zing or spark or whoa — like the moment the barista makes my favorite drink just right or reading a line of poetry that is exactly the medicine I need in that very moment.
Because that zing? That’s it. That’s the good stuff.
So notice: What tiny moment stopped you in your tracks today?
Hit reply or drop a comment. Let’s build a pocket of enchantment together 💫