I found myself strolling down a sidewalk I've walked hundreds of times in my downtown, but this 203rd time I notice a vine-covered gate that leads to a back garden that I hadn't noticed before. Ever so slightly I can see through some trees a gazebo also covered in vines, and there in the middle of the gazebo is a table with a vase of flowers and a candle on it. The late afternoon sunlight is streaming through the breaks in the vines, casting a hazy, warm glow on the scene before me.
Without even realizing it, I imagine myself there in that almost secret garden. I then start to reminisce on scenes from George MacDonald's Phantastes, of images and feelings I've read about or seen in books, literature, even online. That walk won't ever be the same. Wonder, beauty, joy can truly be found anywhere.
Ekstasis and the community I've found there has allowed me to broaden my perspective and truly grow my imagination in ways I didn't think were possible. It brings me back the simpler days of my childhood where I found wonder in everything and each new experience felt like reading a page from a fantasy book. We get so caught up in the mundane everyday that it so easy to lose that joy in the beauty that surrounds us. Ekstasis has allowed me to find anew that childlike wonder, and has brought more purpose to my life as an adult.
