There’s Magic in the Unknown

Turn off the alarm. Shower. Eat breakfast. Work. Eat lunch. Work. Eat dinner. Watch TV. Go to bed.

The days become weeks and weeks become months.

We stop and wonder "How is it already 2024?" "Where has the time gone?" We plan a trip to break things up, which inevitably leaves us more tired than when we left.

And then it's right back into our routine.

The months become years.

Time moves so slowly and so quickly simultaneously.

It's tough to hold those two thoughts at the same time, tough to make sense of how they can both be true. But they don't have to be.

We can slow our perception of time. We can live more fully, experiencing more deeply the highs and lows of life.

All that's required is breaking out of our routines.

After all, the magic of life is in in the unknown.

Imagine you're standing in complete and total darkness. Surrounding you is an infinite world of possibilities - experiences, thoughts, emotions, sensations - all hidden and unknown to you.

From your pocket, you pull out a candle and a match. In lighting the candle, everything within the light's range comes within your vision. You're suddenly seeing and experiencing things you've never encountered. New thoughts and new emotions enter your mind and body. Leaving the candle on the ground, you can explore all that's visible.

Yet after a while, everything in your field of vision loses its newness. The thoughts and feelings they elicit become familiar, mundane even. You're in a comfortable place and sink into the familiarity.

Time begins to pass faster. There's nothing new or stimulating. The hours become days, days become weeks, and weeks become months.

As you do that, your mind can't help to wonder what sits just beyond the edge of the light. You remember the feeling of first lighting the candle, of exploration, of learning and experiencing totally unfamiliar things.

Looking around the world you know, you have a conscious choice to make - do I stay here, where things are comfortable and known? Or do I walk into the darkness with my candle, open to experiencing a world that's totally new and unexpected?

Staying with the familiar is easy. It's predicable. It requires less energy and conscious thought.

Stepping into the darkness is intimidating. We could get hurt or experience things that challenge our perception of what's real. But we could also discover so much more about ourselves and the world. We could experience new thoughts and new feelings that show us a depth to life we didn't know existed.

And in that, life slows down. We move from autopilot to a more conscious existence. We learn and grow. We break the monotony that's held us back for so long.

The call to the unknown is different for all of us and is different at every stage of life. It could be as small as striking a conversation with the stranger at the coffee shop who's reading your favorite book. It could be as big as quitting your job and moving to a new city.

The darkness is all around, waiting for us to walk forward with our candle.

It's never easy to step into the darkness, but it's where life happens.

After all, the magic of life is in in the unknown.