Moving Statues in Ireland Trigger Enchantment

Moving statues of the Virgin Mary were all the rage in Ireland in the mid-1980s. I got to visit one, even though I wasn’t a believer. And yet, I couldn’t help but be caught up in the magical atmosphere. After about an hour of staring at the thing, it moved. There was a loud gasp of wonder and astonishment from the crowd. For a moment, the world became enchanted.

There was no denying the magic in that moment, but it didn’t bring me back to my childhood faith. It wasn’t that my rational mind objected. I didn’t just put it down to mass hysteria or optical illusions from staring too long. It was more that the experience deepened my doubts about everything. What is this thing we call reality? How can we know if we are being fooled? How can we be sure of anything? I could see that moment of enchantment was as real as it gets. But how it happened was a matter of belief. I realized that wonder is a way of being rather than a way of thinking. 

Here is a short comic-strip video I made for this text

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