There is something precious in our being mysteries to ourselves, in our being able ever to see through even the person who is closest to our heart and to reckon with him as though he were a logical proposition or a problem in accounting.
~Rudolf Bultman~
When I was a child I thought I knew everything. As a young man, I came to realize I didn’t know everything but thought I could understand and make sense of anything. Over the years, I have come to realize there are some things I will never understand. I think of them as life’s mysteries.
One of them has to do with the universe. How do all the heavenly spheres stay in balance year after year? Maybe astronomers or physicists understand the balance, but to me it remains precarious and mysterious.
The universe inside the atom is equally mysterious to me. Left to themselves, subatomic particles stay balanced and keep spinning. Particle accelerators can create spectacular if short lived fireworks. Then there is atomic fission fueling power plants as well as nuclear warheads poised to threaten the survival of the world if someone gets crazy enough. How can the world inside the atom be so fascinating as well as so fearsome?
In between the universe and the atom are a whole range of mysteries. The Bee Movie recently reminded me that theoretically bees can’t fly, yet they do. Migrating birds somehow find their way from a pond on one continent to a lake on another. A recent theory suggests birds can detect and even see the earth’s magnetic fields. Even if true, that doesn’t entirely resolve the mystery of migration for me. And what of whales and butterflies which also migrate?
It is not just nature that’s mysterious. I have sailed upwind in a sailboat and sometimes still wonder how I did it. Despite my sailing experience, windsurfing remains a mystery at least for anything longer than five seconds.
Computers are also mysterious. How does moving a mouse with your hand change where the pointer is on the screen? When I first studied computers, I learned that all they can do is say yes or no, on or off, one or zero. Yet these simple operations have connected the continents through the World Wide Web.
I also wonder how maple trees, bees and worms can give us tons of maple syrup, honey, and silk with no threat to their survival. When I was in grammar school I learned that it would probably not be too long before the world ran out of oil. Yet the supply seems almost inexhaustible.
What about the glorious colors in the changing leaves each Fall? And what of the breathtaking sunrises and sunsets around the world each day? None of these seem to serve any useful purpose other than to make us delight in them.
I could go on, but I think you get the point. We are surrounded by fascinating and wonderful events, many of which we tend to take for granted. Maybe it’s time to stop and marvel at the parts of our universe which entrance us.
Action Steps
- Think of what creates a sense of wonder in you on your daily rounds.
- Take time to stop and delight in your wonderment.
- Balance your time of worry with time to let the world fascinate you.
- Think of what enthralls you about other people.
- Let people know when they delight you.
A selection from my book, Navigating Life: Commonsense Reflections for the Voyage, available at Amazon,