Mystery is Key

What is life’s driving force? Big question, but worth spending some time thinking about.

To me, mystery is the key.

Mystery leads to curiosity, which in turn sparks our desire to learn.

Take infants for example. Our biggest period of mental growth happens during the first three years of our life. Why is that…? When we’re young everything is a mystery. A little ball rolling across the floor or a dog barking is enough to keep an infant captivated for hours.

Real learning doesn’t happen in school; it happens when we realize the mystery behind something and try to figure it out. School can help, but only if you’re curious.

Mystery leads to more mysticism. What's interesting is that the more I 'learn', the more mysterious things become.

Albert Einstein puts it eloquently:

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed. Drive was to figure out why God made things the way he did and to figure out his plan."

Embrace mystery. I've noticed I feel my best when everything around me is mysterious. It's like you're more connected in a way. That awe is what it's all about.

Try this. Next time you’re feeling down, unhappy, or lonely take a moment to sit down and have a few deep breaths with you eyes closed. Open them and focus deeply on the first thing you see. Don’t take your eyes off it until you see mystery in it. When you find the mystery you're problems will go away.

Mystery is Key.