Seven Mysteries of Your Life

When I was a kid there was a bit we'd use if someone asked us a question we didn't want to answer. "I don't know," we'd reply, "make it one of the seven mysteries of your life." Where this came from, I have no idea. But there seemed to be some implied understanding each person had seven mysteries in their life to bear as a matter of consequence. I always liked that concept and I never forgot it. Plus it works great as a smart ass answer.

Here are a couple of my mysteries. I'll post more if I live that long.

The Boxer.Some things resonate with us even if we don't know why. A story I once read in a magazine haunts me to this day. It was a profile of an up and coming boxer, perhaps the best in the world in his class. As he worked his way up through the ranks, it was evident he was simply on a different level than his opponents. Even as he neared the top, he kept winning and finally he got his shot at the champ. It was to be his moment of vindication at long last, he believed. But he lost.

The bubble had been popped. Without his all-conquering belief, he was no longer the same person. The story told of the plane ride back with his "specialness" gone. He had to have that ego boost he was the best in order to perform. That ego trip was over, thus so was his career. A fatal character flaw or was he meant to be something else all along? Regardless, I have never forgotten him.


The Magic Spot.This is a true mystery. It's hard to even hazard a guess what happened here. It's not something I've talked about because what's the point? Sort of like seeing a UFO, to talk of it only brings grief. But this was real and it happened.

I was on a boy scout trip and we went to some land owned by a scout master or someone. It was great. We were out in the boonies and left to explore on our own. Eventually I found myself alone in a place of very sandy soil and some very thick trees. At the bottom of the trees was debris wrapped around from what had to of been large amounts of rain water gushing through. For some reason, this fascinated me. "Is this real?" I remember thinking. And then I began to realize I was in a special place.

Never in my life have I found a place for me in this world. I'm not complaining, it's just a fact. But there in those trees I was home. It was a sense of euphoria I had not felt before or since. I had been in the woods and whatnot before but never did I experience this. It was like returning to the Garden of Eden. There was something so right about being there. I was rejoicing and filled with wonder. Truly, I was sitting in paradise and no longer of this earth.

When I heard the call to leave I was crushed. Heartbroken, I reluctantly trudged my way back into the sorrow of the real world. I had been embraced by that mystical spot and it was like leaving family. As I think back now, that short time may have been the happiest moments of my childhood.