In grade seven, we read The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster in English literature, in which King Azaz ordered a boy, Milo, to do a particular task. Once Milo completed the task, the king told him that the task was, in fact, impossible to do, but he did it.

See the twist here? If Milo had been told in the beginning that that particular task was ‘impossible’, he could never have done it. ‘Not knowing’ is a blessing!

Consider Mariam, who is afraid of cats. She goes to an open-air restaurant and selects a table beneath which a cat is serenely sleeping. Mariam has her dinner, and right before the bill arrives, she discovers the cat and gasps in fear. Her family tells her that it was there the whole time; she just didn’t know and, even better, Mariam had her dinner without stress.

Numerous blessings are unnoticed, yet they continue to benefit us in unexpected ways. Speaking of animals, do you know that the least favourite ones, hyenas and vultures, are extremely important for the ecosystem? Known as ‘scavengers,’ they feed on dead animals, breaking them down into smaller fragments. And those fragments become a feast for ants and the annoying houseflies who help break down the matter further. Then, those micro-fragments are decomposed by microorganisms, completely vanishing the corpse and, according to Mufasa (the famous lion from the movie The Lion King), turning into fresh, green grass. Earth would be unbearable if corpses were lying around everywhere.

What we cannot see, hear or know is exactly what keeps us safe. Discover the silent, perfectly balanced boundaries protecting your daily life

Another unnoticed animal is the earthworm, which lives in the soil. This animal is essential for proper airflow in the soil, improving its health. Freshness in a garden cannot be achieved without this annelid. So, the animals that disgust us are serving a crucial role in preserving the environment.

Zooming out from Earth and into space, you may have learnt that sound needs a medium to travel and hence it cannot travel in a vacuum. This is a huge blessing people don’t realise. Because what if sound could travel in space? We could hear the colossal fusion reactions of the sun that produce deafening sound waves, louder than a fighter jet standing next to our ears. No place on Earth would have been peaceful and quiet if sound travelled in space.

Everything in the universe is precise with intelligent adjustments wherever needed. The orbits of the planets and moons are perfect. The distance between Earth and the Moon is optimised — if it were slightly less, Earth would face tremendous oceanic tides. You may have studied how the ozone layer protects Earth from the sun’s ultraviolet rays, but did you know that the sun also produces energetic particles as “solar wind,” which is perilous if you are exposed to them? However, due to Earth’s magnetic field, the solar wind bends and barely touches Earth’s polar atmosphere, creating mesmerising displays of polar lights!

All this, and the Almighty calls us, humans, His greatest creation. It is fascinating how our body functions smoothly — our reflexes act before we even know it, protecting us from unexpected danger. All our internal systems—digestion, the circadian rhythm, urination, circulation, respiration and the complex nervous system—operate by themselves. We do not need to give our lungs instructions to inflate and deflate; they just function as a part of an algorithm.

Another thing we often overlook is how nature adapts to different situations, again of its own accord, to maintain balance. The sea in winter becomes warm, and in summer it becomes cool. Even our bodies adapt. After running super-fast, you will pant because your heart needs the extra oxygen to pump more blood to your muscles; notice your accelerated heartbeat.

Moreover, your skin will sweat a lot — this happens because the water on your skin evaporates, creating a cooling effect, forestalling you from exhaustion. Also, whenever we get a cut or get ill, we observe swelling and fever that prevent the spread of germs.

Apart from these gifts, human limitations are also blessings. Imagine if your eyes could see everything. You wouldn’t dare to touch anything if you could see microorganisms and germs everywhere, and going to the washroom would be similar to entering a nuclear asylum. Your ears have an audible frequency range between 20 and 20,000 Hertz. What if you could hear everything and at full volume? It would have been a disaster! Even libraries would not be as quiet.

This makes us understand the adverse effects of noise pollution. A telephone ring is normal to us, but for animals with better hearing capabilities, it is equivalent to a drill!

And lastly, what can be better than being born in a safe place and time? Being born in a country free of war is a huge blessing. Additionally, imagine being born during the Viking or the Spartan era, where they would kill the weak children and brutally train the remaining ones with the intention of building a strong army. Or even during the World Wars, where boys and young men were forced into military service and homes were destroyed.

Being born to good parents and a family — who provide love, support and security — is also a blessing children ignore.

When we look around us, there is not a single thing that the Almighty created against us. We need to acknowledge His mercy and be grateful for every blessing He has endowed us with. Furthermore, we can also use some of these phenomena to our advantage!

The stress students face in entrance exams is because they are told that these tests are extremely difficult. This creates unnecessary pressure on students. In reality, these university entrance exams are easier than board exams! And if students can handle the board’s pressure, they can easily deal with entrance tests. Once you clear away the noise of misinformation, you realise you were built to handle the challenge.

Sometimes, the only thing standing between us and our own success is simply knowing less about what we are “supposed” to fear.

Published in Dawn, Young World, July 18th, 2026