The Power of Life.

Today’s word is ensorcell

The definition;

To enchant; fascinate.

"He was a child when the power of a mythic image first ensorcelled him"

I remember, when I was five or so, spending hours in the garden, collecting as many snails as I could. There was an old fish tank at the bottom with which I stored them.

Every day I'd pick them, placed them in their new home, went to sleep and checked on them in the morning. I'd be devastated to find them gone and start the whole process again.

I was ensorcelled by them. Their tentacles, the way they moved, so gracefully, over a leaf, not a sound emanating off of them as they nibbled at the edges. A trail of slime being left in their wake to shimmer in the sunlight and create a rainbow, so mesmerising, I'm sure I was hypnotised for some time. Of course I was only 5 so I couldn't know if that's all true, not really. But what I do know is it kept me enthralled for a long time and I still find pleasure in watching nature play out as I walk the fields and forest near my home, or even my 'pet’ spiders which live in my porch that I see daily.

Now I'm 35. I've lived an extra 30 years, I still find the lives of insects pretty fascinating, but I've also witnessed a lot more. I also admit we can become ensorcelled by an abundance of things, like material possessions, work, money even.

Being fascinated means being engrossed by it. For example, people go to work, come home, worry about work, talk about it. Then go to sleep and get up to do the same thing. It's safe to say most of the population does this and it's easy to forget about the tiny little things which offer us the most enjoyment, like the snail who leaves a rainbow like trail across a leaf and makes us gawp in awe at its beauty.

To be ensorcelled by something it must captivate you, it must hold some control over you and have you hypnotised by it. This can be anything from a good feeling, like the snail, or chocolate ice-cream say, to things that aren't so good which control our emotions and have us so ensorcelled they can deaden us!

Synonyms for ensorcell verb captivate enthrall fascinate hypnotise stupefy control deaden drug entrance

I'd like to think we were all able to control what captivates us but, in reality, we'll never really know until we wake ourselves up and see what has taken hold of us, drugging us into a state we might never get out of.

Perhaps you're able to utilise this word now with a better understanding, I know I will.