One of my new favorite words and concepts

i'm kind of enchanted by the word "enchanted." i don't know what it is, but i can't seem to get it out of my head. it keeps popping up everywhere.

i think the current fascination began when i got taylor swift's new album, speak now. one song quickly became my favorite: "enchanted." i started thinking about the idea. "i was enchanted to meet you..." it sounds so elegant and magical. wouldn't you want people to feel enchanted around you? it's kind of delightful, really.

well, then i got thinking about other times i've heard about enchantment in the adjectival sense, not necessarily the i've-put-a-spell-on-you sense which, now that i think about it, also applies. i mean, maybe you enchanted someone with your charming conversational skills or that subtle little wiggle of your nose.

anyway, i remembered an enchanted moment from one of my favorite movies, you've got mail: "cecilia kelly...she was enchanting." i tried to find the clip somewhere, but i guess youtube doesn't extend that far into obscure movie clips. i've always loved the thought of someone being so intriguing and lovely that a man remembers her 30 some odd years later only as "enchanting." of course, there is also the recent disney movie, enchanted, which plays on the magical sense--the would-be princess actually comes from another world and charms the logical city boy into loving her, though not intentionally of course. the enchantment i'm going for lacks malice and artifice.

then, in a book i was reading for a class, the word in its multiple forms showed up again. the victorians were enchanted by people and things--why have we lost that? 

and finally, one of my favorite children's books is ella enchanted by gail carson levine. i'm a sucker for fairy tales, which may or may not already be apparent, and i still love this story now as much as i did at 11 or however old i was when i first read it. the cool thing in this story is that ella gets her prince charming even though she has this horrible curse to overcome. she's a cool girl, she obviously enchants the guy, and they all live happily ever after. 

i guess my point is that i love the idea of being enchanting and enchanted. i hope some people are enchanted to meet me, at least sometimes. and i like to think that some people i meet leave me enchanted, too. 

anyway, i'm making it my new goal. let's bring back enchantment.