I do, I do, I do believe...

[wayfaringwordhack]

There was this quotation at the bottom of my A.Word.A.Day* email:

Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too? -Douglas Adams, writer, dramatist, and musician (1952-2001)  

To which I say, But I want to believe! Some may consider me superstitious, others, ignorant, others still, weak; but I like having a little belief in my life.

*The word of the day was "mawkish," and I found the etymological explanation fascinating:  

From Middle English mawke (maggot). Are maggots sentimental? We don't know, but the secondary sense of the word mawkish derives from the disgust we feel at the sight of the insect. By extension the word began to refer to something sickeningly sentimental. 

Comments

[frigg.livejournal.com]

I once made someone believe that there were fairies in our garden, does that count?

Of course, honest that I am, I admitted to the hoax, when I saw that my victims were turning into true believers - and did they appreciate the world of wonder I'd introduced them to, albeit briefly? No, they got really pissed. Spoil-sports.

[pjthompson]

I'm with you: fairies at the bottom of the garden make life more bearable, even if the garden is perfectly beautiful without them. :-)