On What We Do Not See

The person with big dreams is more powerful than one with all the facts.

Albert Einstein

I like to think I’m fairly astute about some things in life. After all, research, risk management, and being results driven are all aspects of the world I live in professionally, and as with all passions, they spill into my life outside of work. I’ve also learned the painful lessons of inaction, procrastination, and denial that tend to complicate most endeavors to the point of failure. So I tend to be pragmatic, even when things are not so pleasant. How else can we make life better if we deny what’s wrong? So seeing what is happening in the world today and putting 2 plus 2 together, it’s not too hard to predict what’s going to happen. What is already happening.

To say I wish things were different is an understatement. If I could be wrong a thousand times over I would wish it so in a heartbeat. If I could not know what I know…well, to say that I am tempted to sink into the bliss of ignorance, if only for a few minutes before reality hits, is not far fetched. And yet like a person rubbernecking on a highway to see what happened to stop traffic, I find myself unable to look away. I keep consuming the data, reading the updates, and with every new piece of information I feel like I am reaching the top of the highest hill on a roller coaster and looking down at the wild ride I’m about to experience. The one we are all about to endure, with seemingly infinite inversions and corkscrews until the final whiplash when the car stops. For this is one ride we are all taking, whether we want to or not. But even in what seems to be the beginning of twilight falling into the darkest dark, I wonder at all the things I do not see. My view only captures what is right in front of me, my fate seemingly tied to the tracks in this ride, but is that so? And so I begin to hope, and as I close my eyes (because I’m afraid of heights), I focus all my energy to see what I cannot see with my eyes wide open.