“the world had to be disenchanted in order for it to be modern”

“the world had to be disenchanted in order for it to be modern.” - huma gupta

back in october, that one time huma and i had a lovely, sprawling conversation about so many things, one of the things she said the above line. and, knowing huma, it came from years of research and study and personal experience, but the way she said it hit me like a ton of bricks. i know i’ve see/heard it when studying or reading other stuff, especially in art history class, but (maybe because i’m a different person now*) the words had new weight to them this time. (sidenote: there’s also a whole thought here about who did and benefits from the disenchanting (think witch hunts) but that’s not where i’m going today…)

as i’ve been getting deeper into more spiritual … stuff… i’ve really come to see how some of the enlightenment dissection of everything has caused just so much harm. from food (nutrients), to childcare (au pairs), to education (subjects), and beyond, the dissection of things into sub parts has really destroyed so much good about things that are whole when they’re in the right context.* but we’ve turned food into just a series of nutrients that we can pick and choose from according to what we think we need at a particular moment. whereas when food is part of communal life and even spiritual practices (holy meals, traditions, etc) things are less individualized and, in some ways, just seemed to cause a lot less trouble.

i’m rambling for sure, but i guess the point i’m trying to get to is that i’m finding myself interested deeply in re-enchanting my world. i’m noticing that i actually am ok with not dissecting everything to understand it. sometimes i have deja vu… and i can’t explain it. but i feel it, enjoy it, and (though do want to know more about it) the solution isn’t always to just look everything up immediately. sometimes there are journeys and pathways and questions don’t need immediate answers. sometimes waiting for the right person (which could take years) to arrive is ok.

i guess i’m trying to say that… though maybe “magic” can be (or eventually will be) explained by science and logic, that might not be the most powerful thing about it. and maybe my energy could be better spent trying to figure out less and trying to move with it more.

idk. maybe.

words / writing / post-processing
~400w / 11min / 5min