Hidden in Plain Sight
We go through life carrying so many questions, almost always starting with that one simple word: “Why?”
Why is the sky blue? Why do I have to do my homework? Why is the weekend so short? And then there are the smaller, quieter questions we rarely ask out loud—like why do I instinctively brush my teeth with my right hand instead of my left?
Sometimes the answer is right there in front of us. Other times, it feels completely invisible—hidden in plain sight.
Take a slow-moving queue, for instance. We stand there tapping our feet, wondering why things aren’t moving, when the reason is usually staring us right in the face if we just look up. Or take the eternal question: Why can’t I just dump the entire junk drawer into the bin and forget it ever existed? That answer is definitely hidden in plain sight. Because the very next day, you know you will open that drawer searching for a battery with 10% life left in it—only to realize it’s gone forever because you finally threw it out!
Some answers require science, studies, evaluations, and long demonstrations. But other answers are just plain logic, staring back at us as if to say, “I’m right here! Just open your eyes!” The hidden things often become clear the moment we take a step back and let life reveal itself—without overthinking or overcomplicating a single thing.
It reminds me of the monsters hiding in the dark. In so many cartoons, the monsters stay hidden until they finally step into the light. At first, the humans panic and run. But before long, they become friends and end up doing amazing things together.
We ended up watching Project Hail Mary over the weekend. Why did we pick that specific movie? Well, the answer was hidden from everyone else, but perfectly clear to us. My sister had recommended it and mentioned the alien character. My son overheard her, and his curiosity instantly took over—he had to see this alien and figure out what on earth a man was doing alone in space.
We had actually watched the trailer a while back and weren’t convinced at all. But with a million other options on the screen, my son convinced us to have a family movie night. It turned out to be surprisingly funny and entertaining—a man out in deep space, meeting an alien, and working together to save multiple worlds. Do we regret watching it? Not at all. Will we watch it a second time? Also no! But if both the man and his “monster” had chosen to stay hidden in plain sight, nobody would have been saved at all.
Maybe we are all a bit like that. Sometimes we prefer to stay hidden, and other times we choose to show up, depending on where we find ourselves. Maybe we save the world when we step forward, and maybe we don’t. But that is the magic of it—we never really know until we stop and ask “Why?”
So sit back, take a look around, and enjoy Issue 30 of The Pineapple.