From the Heart: In the Mystery

“Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man's desire to understand.” ~Neil Armstrong

There are moments in life when a cool quietness settles in and envelopes one in something like a shroud that is opaque and difficult to see through...

These are the moments when one sits in the mystery, in the unknown, in the unfamiliar, perhaps with more questions than there are answers.

When one finds oneself sitting in the mystery, it can feel a little isolating, and uneasy. It can feel a bit like a path that must be traveled alone with only one's Creator to keep them company, a path where little glimmers of understanding come in like small drops of rain, pitter-pattering here and there and in an unpredictable pattern offering little quenches of one's thirst.

I find that order and clarity—a reason for things—is what the human being is desperate for; and when that is missing, it is a great challenge to one’s spirit.

An answer to the question “why?” is what one longs for; and when there is seeming silence, then discomfort and perhaps even some despair (in certain circumstances) becomes a companion that one begins to become all too familiar with.

But perhaps the mystery serves a grand purpose, and is the very thing that keeps one continually asking, seeking, searching, and fumbling towards tomorrow...

Perhaps it is the mystery that keeps the senses alive and active, keeps one on their toes, keeps one looking for a better way, and keeps that sense of hope alive in spite of not knowing what's around that bend in the road...

Sitting in the mystery is a difficult space to sit in, because it challenges every natural instinct of protection and preservation. But it can also elevate one to the next level of being if the mystery is met with a brilliant and beautiful stubbornness to rise up and step out, despite not knowing the answers, and to continue to participate even when one would rather protect oneself and retreat from life.

It is in the mystery where all of life takes place—where one feels pain, joy, fear, anger, sickness, health and all of the many wonders that one is given over to experience as a human being.

Perhaps the mystery teaches one to be comfortable in the discomfort, to be OK with not knowing all the answers, and to keep one's awareness on the present sliver of time that is already being held in the hand and make that count.

After all, it is in the mystery, in the quietness, and in the stillness that one learns what they are truly made of.

Taste what's good and pass it on.

Ingrid