Book Commentary: Enchantment by Katherine May
There are few words that seem further from who I am than “enchantment.”
“Anxious” is a state I flirt with daily.
Those words together – “enchantment” and “anxious” – tripped a mental circuit, and I impulsively ordered a copy of Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age by Katherine May.
I had no idea what I would find inside, but the cover illustration of a constellation of stars forming the shape of a feather made me a little suspicious at first that this book isn’t for me.
An early passage pierced through that suspicion.
“For years now we’ve been running like rabbits. We glimpse a flash of white tail, read the danger signal, and run, flashing our own white tail behind us. It’s a chain reaction, a river of terror surging incoherently onwards, gathering up other wild, alert bodies who in turn signal their own danger. There is no one predator from which to escape; there are many. We are in the business of running now. It is all so urgent. Every year, it seems we must run harder. There is no other solution. We can only run, and panic, and chatter out our fears to others, who will mirror them back to us.”
This paragraph describes the emotion I sense from many of my coaching clients today, an emotion that to be honest I still feel myself even after trading in a high-stress career. Managing through a highly uncertain, ever-changing, chaotic world. Surrounded by the incessant need to transform ourselves, our companies, and our way of working. Approached one way, it’s energizing and inspiring. And yet, to many it’s enervating, exhausting, dehumanizing, a fear-charged marathon-long sprint that we will never finish.
This book is about rediscovering the childlike sense of wonder as an antidote to this anxiety. It reveals how the author, a neurodiverse writer, reconnected post – pandemic with herself and her family. It is not so much a how-to guide as an invitation to observe her as she grounds herself, unlearns and relearns, and relates again to the wonders and secrets of the natural world. It’s about listening and feeling, accepting, being a part of elements: earth, water, fire and air.
This book is not a business book, and yet the observations and lessons fit well into a business context. Instead of allowing the volatile, uncertain, chaotic world to spark fear and make us run, faster and faster year after year, what if we could ground ourselves, connect with colleagues, use curiosity and wonder to see our products and clients in new ways?
In so doing couldn’t we find strength and creativity and inspiration?