The Enchanted Forest - November 2023

Enchanting reads from around Substack in October

Is it okay to talk about enchantment when bombs are falling somewhere?

As

Caroline Ross

wrote just this morning,

Writers write, singers sing, runners run, bakers bake;

we write and there’s nothing wrong with our path,

even in times of war.

All times have been times of war.

Welcome, subscribers and newcomers. The Enchanted Forest is a gathering space for enchanting reads published on Substack in the prior month. At no time since we began these gatherings last summer has there not been a war. Finding relief and renewed humanity in enchantment, we gather.

(Please note: If you’re reading this in your email, you may not get the full post to the finish. Click the title above to see the whole thing on the website.)

Plenty on Substack in the past month has been sober or sobering. I suspect that theology student

Robert

of

Musings From A Broken Heart

spoke for many when he read opinions about the fighting between Hamas and Israel and felt that “I myself have nothing” — until a phrase came up in “This is not the end.” As a writer, he did have something. Another day he shared these lines from poet Lucille Clifton:

come celebrate with me

that every day

something has tried to kill me

and has failed.

(Here is the rest of Clifton’s poem, “won’t you celebrate with me.”)

Can you relate to Robert when he says, “These are frigid days”?

This is not the end

I felt that frigidity, too, and warmed myself with a little poem to honor the season when death is so much in evidence.

But around Substack, as usual, people were eating, journaling, preparing for holidays, and making art with all the usual signs of life. We insist on delight. Unless we are actively in mourning, we affirm life with hospitality, creativity, and laughter.

The posts gathered below do this with enchanting style. They include:

1. A guide for preparing for Diwali (Nov 10-14), the Indian Festival of Light

2. Meditations beginning with neighbors and moving toward communion and mending

3. Remarkable art

4. A journal prompt &

5. An homage to quiet men

Preparing for Diwali

If you are ready for a “celebration of light over darkness,” smack in the season of growing darkness,

Perzen Patel

has your guide to Diwali, coming up this week:

Celebrate Diwali in five easy steps

Meditations Beginning with Neighbors

Renée Eli, Ph.D.

shared a life-affirming, poetic salute to her last Canadian hosts as she turned south toward home just before the one-year anniversary of her North American travel odyssey in

Beyond the Comfort Zone with Renée Eli, Ph.D.

Her deeply layered essay is about communion, letting old skin go down the drain, and making peace even with the flies:

One Immutable Truth Born of Desire

I am grateful to

Julie Gabrielli

for bringing to my attention the lovely meditations of

Caroline Ross

of

Uncivil Savant

. Before traveling last month, Caroline began harvesting the fruits of her neighbors’ trees, and from there she meditated on mending the small things in need of repair. Open this essay for a slow, quiet read while you wait for something in the oven to roast:

Mending our nets before the storm

Remarkable Art

Shauna K. Hunt

of

Celebrating the Light

nominated art teacher

Shannon Steven

’s

Weekly Wonder

for this month’s Enchanted Forest. Every week, Shannon posts pictures and words to inspire us with feelings of wonder. You’ll want to see these amazing acorn people that she highlighted in October from toy designer David M. Bird, and then browse more of Shannon’s wonders:

nature as medium

Speaking of artists, when people see the science-inspired artwork of

Michele Banks

of

Artologica

, they often ask if she is a scientist. So that none of us has to put her in the position of saying, “I’m just an artist inspired by science,” here’s her account of how dripping things together on surfaces turned her into a portrait artist of things that undergo mitosis. From her first full month on Substack:

I'm Not a Scientist, and That's Okay

A Journal Prompt

Yoga teacher Jodie Melissa Rogers of

Slower Space

shared a journaling practice this month that I intend to try. On days when gratitude seems like a stretch or a half-truth, Jodie came across another prompt that feels more authentic. Check out her post here:

Gratitude journaling, but even better...

Homage to Quiet Men

We’ll close the gathering with a soothing picture and heartfelt word from Roderick MacIver of the

Heron Dance Art Journal

, which publishes

A Pause For Beauty

. From Substack, Heron Dancers follow links to an online gallery for art and poetry, where we find this homage to quiet men. (Click the highlighted words to jump to the poem that accompanies the image below.)

Canoeing, by Roderick MacIver, from https://herondance.org/men-of-beauty.

That’s all for this edition of the Enchanted Forest. Thank you for reading and sharing the work of everyone who strikes a chord with you here.

Coming later today to subscribers: A special photo essay on U.S. Election Day eve, when we’ll vote local mayors and council members and legislators in or out of office. What better time for a parade? Pictures to follow. If you’re in the U.S., have your “Share” fingers ready. This post offers a crazy-simple idea for healing a divided country.

📣 Coming November 20: Enchanted in America unveils a new name and mission! Subscribers have seen it coming. The Enchanted Forest won’t stay exactly the same, but if you write or read something either transformative or enchanting in November, go ahead and tag @ Tara Penry in a Substack Note. Then stay tuned to this channel. 🙈

If you’re new here and curious, I recommend a free subscription so you’ll hear about the changes that have me all aflutter. 😊 🐣 🦉🦩🦢🦤 Thank you to all the beautiful writers for messages from the heart this last month. ❤️

Tah-ra

Photo credit for the autumn forest scene: Konstantin Dyadyun on Unsplash