The Safety of Small Things

In times of trouble, a light shines on the horizon. It is she, bringer of peace and comfort, radiant voice whispering words of solace and consolation. A crown upon her brow, velvet gowns whispering along the ground to either side of her bare feet, we hear her and we all breathe a collective sigh, knowing that all will be well. I am speaking, of course, of Enya.

She is not the only sign that we are craving cosy and safe things in our lives at present. But to me, the recent resurgence of her popularity definitely showcases our need for something comforting and beautiful. (I say this as a fan of hers, whose Spotify recent history will prove I’m listening too.) #enyacore is the latest trend, and though it technically refers to a resurgence of medieval style in décor and fashion, (Which I am absolutely here for!) her music is also showing up left and right in various TikTok videos and other social media places online. 

The last time I saw this mass passion for Enya was over twenty years ago, when the terrorist attacks happened on September 11th. Shortly thereafter, a song from her album that had come out almost a year earlier in the fall of 2000 ended up topping charts worldwide. Everyone, in the United States especially, was terrified. We needed reassurance somehow. And "Only Time" was the song everyone wanted to hear. "Who can say where the road goes? Where the day flows? Only time..."

I am rambling on about Enya…it is very easy to ramble on about Enya…but this blog isn't about her, really. She is only one of many signs I've seen increasing year by year since Covid shut the world down. Our need for comfort is only growing stronger. I saw a recent meme that said that older people don't realize that no one under the age of forty thinks that the world will ever be better again. Many people believe we are on the brink of ecological disaster, of the next world war. So many of us are just waiting for the next shoe to drop. And so all of us, no matter our ages, want to see something beautiful. Hopeful. Something without a single shadow of dark nuance. We want comfort.

You can see it in Enya's resurgence of popularity, the second historical instance when we felt on the brink of something terrible. You can also see it in the continuing popularity of cottagecore. Other "cores" and aesthetics have risen up, but cottagecore still remains, in gorgeous product lines from Hot Topic (search "Thorn and Fable"), in spring decor trends at Target. 

I work at a library (yes, it can be a delightfully cosy job, but not all the time. That's another story though), and part of my daily work is reading sites like Book Riot that discuss new releases and trends. And hoo boy, can I tell you that "cosy fantasy" and "cosy speculative fiction" are a rising trend right now. Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree was by no means the first example, but its popularity seemed to shout to publishers and writers that the world is clamoring for more "low-stakes" stories placed in magical, wondrously fantastical settings. Whole book lists are popping up recommending other fantasy books that won't keep you up at night because of worrisome plotlines, and that have a guaranteed gentle ending. I’m already in line for the forthcoming Flowerheart, which cornerstoned its promotion on how cosy a story it is. “Anne of Green Gables in a fantasy world.” Yes. Oh yes please.

Although Li Ziqi hasn't returned to YouTube yet, a panoply of other female YouTube stars from Japan, Korea, and China have filled the gap with gorgeous aesthetic videos (many of which never show the face of the mysterious woman) featuring beautifully shot footage of baked bread, garden work, decorating, all done with one foot in the world of ASMR (there is no voiceover, only the sounds of the work being done, and charming captions describing what is happening). Like Enya, cottagecore, and cosy fantasy, I also adore these as well. I personally follow at least ten or twelve different channels that produce this kind of video, and I save them to watch either right before drifting off to sleep, or in moments when my anxiety rises and I need a dose of comfort. 

Image of YouTuber Nekoniwa

Comfort is the modus operandi of Instagrammer India Rose Crawford as well. She has over 700,000 followers on Instagram, and 460,000 on TikTok. And when I see a new video of hers pop up on my account, it takes all my willpower to wait and save it until my husband and I can watch it together. The subject matter? Frog and Toad, two knitted miniature dolls she created using patterns available to purchase from Dot Pebbles Knits. But oh, what videos! Frog and Toad eat breakfast, take bubble baths, fly a kite, make art for each other, put up their Christmas tree, and each video fills me with enough serotonin to last several days.

And look, the things I've mentioned in this blog post are only just scratching the surface. They are just a handful of the things that I personally love or have recently noticed. There are so many more examples of this trend where the worse life gets, the more we need these simplicities. Give me fantasy fiction written for adults that could have been written by Frances Hodgson Burnett (The Secret Garden). Give me aesthetic video diaries of bread recipes I'll never use, let me dress like I'm headed for a picnic I may never take. I need it.

To be honest, it all makes me feel a little bit of sympathy for Nero, who "fiddled while Rome burned." Okay, maybe not, he was a terrible person from what I've read. But the idea of fiddling while Rome burned...that I can understand a bit better. Trying to find some small beauty when you look around and feel a terrible fear that perhaps it is too late to fix a single thing. The whole world is burning. But we have tiny frogs and toads who hold hands. We have orcs who open coffee shops in fantasy cities and end up falling in love. We have Enya. I am truly not being facetious here. Perhaps this is what will save us, or at least our sanity. A life without joy isn't worth living. Sometimes the big things are just too damn big. And sometimes...sometimes the small things are our salvation.

Thank heavens for the safety of small things.

I’ll leave you with this perfect poem by Tom Hirons. It will be in his new collection 'At the Orphans' Door' from Feral Angels Press later in the Spring.