Have you ever stood in front of a mirror and tried to count the hairs on your head? Not metaphorically, literally.
Have you ever attempted to number the tiny strands of hair that grow on your body without your command, or wondered how many cover your entire skin? It’s an impossible task, of course. And have you ever truly seen the back of your own head? Unless you’re a contortionist or unusually double jointed and flexible, the honest answer’s, no.
Yet these impossibilities tell us something deeply profound: we’re mysteries to ourselves long before the universe ever becomes one.
Consider your heartbeat. Right now, without effort, without instruction, it’s pulsing life through you. Sixty to a hundred beats per minute. Thousands per hour. Millions per month. It’s done this faithfully from the moment you were formed and it’ll continue until you breathe your final breath and you leave this world for the next.
Inside, you carry over 100,000 kilometres of blood vessels, a vast internal highway that would circle the Earth more than twice. Imagine that!
Your brain fires electrical impulses faster than any computer ever built. Your cells divide, repair, remember and respond with a sophistication that defies imagination and comprehension.
And yet, with all this marvel inside us, we often walk through life assuming we know enough. Assuming we’re in control. Assuming we’ve mastered truth.
Arrogant? Maybe.
Ignorant? Possibly.
Human? Absolutely.
Because the greatest mystery in the universe is not the stars, nor the galaxies, nor the black holes that swallow light. It’s us. You and me.
We carry within us a universe we haven’t even begun to map or begun to fully comprehend, understand or minutely describe or discover with any degree of clarity and accuracy.
The unexplored continent within
We spend our days trying to understand the world, about politics, nations, conflicts, galaxies far beyond our reach. But very few of us have taken the courageous step of understanding the world within – our mind, our motives, our fears, our gifts, our purpose. Our light that keeps us alive.
We know so little about what makes us love, dream, fear and hope.
We know so little about why we speak the words we speak, the words we write or why certain memories cling to us like shadows.
We know so little about what we could become if we truly understood the depth, gentleness and power hidden inside of us.
And that’s why I am fascinated…with me.
Not out of vanity, but out of wonder.
Not out of pride, but out of gratitude.
Because the truth is: each of us is a walking talking miracle of creation.
Created for a brief but brilliant moment
Of all the galaxies, of all the worlds, of all the vast cosmic spaces, you were given this one life, this one body, this one chance to breathe and feel and give and live.
We’re uniquely created beings, each crafted with intention, each designed with a purpose. We’re not random. We’re not accidental. We’re not here by coincidence.
We’ve been given but a glimpse, a short, breathtaking moment on this living planet to learn, to love, to discover, to build, to forgive, to uplift, to grow before we go into another sphere of existence.
Our job isn’t to solve the entire universe and whether other life forms exist.
Our job’s to express the humanity that’s been placed within us, to notice it, honour it and share it.
The calling we all share
What if your greatest assignment in life was simply this:
To deepen the awareness of what it means to be human.
To raise the light in others by discovering the light in ourselves.
To share your experiences, your wisdom, your struggles and your victories so someone else might find the strength to stand again, to live again with purpose?
What if we were created to be mirrors reflecting truth and light back to one another?
What if our stories were meant to heal?
What if our humanity was meant to connect?
And what if all of this – our wonder, our questions, our hidden depths – pointed to something far greater?
Something higher? Something wiser?
A power beyond us, yet within us.
A presence that breathes meaning into our existence and into our humanity.
A truth that doesn’t shout, but whispers truths that if we care to listen would overwhelm us with wonder, grace and gratitude.
The inanimate truth that moves the living
Call it God. Call it a higher power.
Call it the divine spark. Call it the source of life.
Whatever name we choose, the truth remains. Something greater than us guides the unfolding of our lives.
Something beyond human intellect shapes the chapters of our storybook that we walk through.
Something deeply intelligent pulses under the chaos of the world with astonishing order and grace.
And every heartbeat you’ve ever had. Every breath, every moment of wonder is proof.
We’re here for a reason
You were born to deliver something only you can give. No one else.
Your voice. Your kindness. Your insight.
Your compassion. Your courage. Your story.
You were created to awaken humanity, not all at once, not in grand speeches, but in the small, powerful ways you touch the people beside you and the people you come into contact with each and every single day.
This is the miracle of our existence.
We bring light to the world simply by discovering the light within ourselves.
“You are the Light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden…your Light must shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Heavenly Father!” (Spoken by Jesus in Matthew 5:14-16).
Be the Light you were destined and created to be and illuminate your world and the world around you.
- COLIN DEOKI lives in Melbourne, Australia and is a regular contributor to this newspaper. The views expressed in this article are his and not necessarily of this newspaper.
