What is Unseen

In 2021, I bought a thermal scope. With it, I could see in complete darkness because everything has a thermal signature. The idea of thermal imagery was hypothesized about and discovered in 1800. The first infrared TV was created in 1929. Think of the millions of people in history who had no idea that seeing in complete darkness was a possibility. Even if you tried to explain thermal or infrared technology, it would be magic to them.

Wind. Ocean currents. Thermal signatures. Infrared light. Atomic structures. Chemistry. Biology. Magnetic fields.

The problem is that you convince yourself that what you see is all there is to see. It’s the old programming saying “WYSIWYG”, what you see is what you get.

But, be honest about the world. There is so much more happening in the universe than what you can see.

The first time you went on a date with your someday-spouse, there either was or, tragically, was not chemistry. And what is “chemistry” except the unseen forces between two people?

First dates. Last dates. The birth of a child. A desperate prayer. Unseen forces are at work.

One of my favorite books is CS Lewis’s Screwtape Letters. It’s a fictional account of an older demon writing to his younger, demon protege. The older demon says about humans—convince them that all the bad they see in the world is “real.” Then convince them that all the good in the world is mere sentimentality. If it’s bad and observable, it must be real. If it’s invisible, good, and unobservable, well, then that’s just emotion.

What does the day look like if you move through it assuming that the unseen is happening in tandem with the seen?

And why don’t we admit that there is an unseen universe at work in the world? Maybe it rattles our sense of control over situations. Because, if elements of the world are unseen, then they are outside of our control.

But, there is always more happening than what you can see. What is seen is only the beginning.