Three Great Mysteries

I love mysteries. I was listening to Radiolab (a favorite podcast of mine) and they were discussing the three great mysteries, questions, that from the perspective of science, we simply do not have the answers. They are:

• How did lifeless chemicals produce life?
• How did simple life, after existing for billions of years, suddenly turn into complex life?
• Why are humans the only species to spring deep consciousness and self-awareness?

 
When I ponder the mysteries of life I don’t think about my biological origins. (That may be a good thing.) To me, life’s mysteries are experiences, not so much questions. And I’ve been pondering a few of them lately.
 
Laughter. Everyone laughs. Babies laugh and so do people born blind and deaf. It is a curious thing. Fundamentally, I believe people laugh at the recognition of something truthful: I’ve noticed that, too. I’ve thought that, too. I’ve felt that way, too. Laughter is the way we say, “Yes, life is like that.” Laughter brings people together. I think when Jesus said, “blessed are the peacemakers” he meant “blessed are those who laugh.” For it is hard to hate your enemy when you laugh with him. It is hard to hate yourself when you can laugh at yourself.
 
Song. Composed or improvised, born from an instrument or the bird outside, music has the ability to hold you in a moment. It can stir revolution or motivate compassion. It can take you back. It can inspire you forward. It is organized sound and silence that exists in time; yet its existence can transcend time. And perhaps what is most intriguing is how subjective it is. A song changes one person’s life while another falls asleep.
 
Love. It brings so much delight and so much pain. We slave over the words, yet so much of the language of love is wrapped in a moment, a touch, a glace. It makes us do the most irrational things but holds the title “the greatest of these”. The more we try to define it, the more ambiguous it becomes. As one of my favorite songs from The Mountain Goats goes, “Some things you do money and some you do for love, love, love.” 
 
These represent a few concise contemplations. I, for one, am grateful for life’s mysteries. How boring it would be to be the master all-knowing when you can be the student ever learning meeting each day with curiosity.