Perhaps life is perfectly designed to be a mystery so we can allow the mystery to be perfect by design. Deep, right? But think about it: The mystery is a mystery for a reason. I remember talking to a student who was asking me why he could not know in advance that his prayer was being answered. He wanted a peek or a glance.
I said to him, “Let’s say you want to be blissfully happy, and you pray today for that to be. Then the next day you receive an overnight package in the mail with a letter that states the following: ‘Joe, your prayer has been heard, and in order for you to be blissfully happy, here are your orders. You must:

Relocate to Florida.
Lose fifty-five pounds within eight months.
Let go of those fourteen friends who are intimidated by you.
Quit your job.
Grow up—you are sixty-five.
Leave your marriage of pretense.
Tell the truth for once and stop lying to yourself.’ ”

This is simply too much at once for Joe to integrate. He needs the mystery of not knowing, and so do the rest of us. We welcome the word change as a naked baby and then resist the word for the rest of our lives—at least, some of us do. Our dreams and prayers are answered in the way that is best suited for our consciousness. For dreams and new desires to be lasting and possible, it is necessary for us to grow into them.