The open heart at the center of the Chartres-style labyrinth, Sacred Garden Maui

Why does the magic fade the third time around? A reflection on chasing novelty, the science of why we adapt, and finding wonder in what is already here.

I was having a conversation with a German friend recently when a word surfaced in my memory that I had not thought about in a long time: Arschengel. I had once seen it printed on a postcard, and it made me laugh. But sitting there, mid-conversation, it came back to me. And with it, something Robert Betz once said about what the word actually means. It unlocked something. It reminded me of a pattern I have noticed looking back at my life, one I could not see while I was living it. The moments...