That there are still unexplained and magical elements every day in this deep and complex world is mostly wonderful.
It is wonderful, for example, that doctors still cannot tell precisely when a woman will go into labour.
The world held its breath early this week, wondering when our own Princess Mary would give birth to twins.
The timing of their arrival was roughly predicted but, as with all natural births, no doctor could say precisely when it would happen.
There are so many unexplained wonders that still have no plausible explanation, are outside the realms of real predictability and tease us with their mystery.
The placebo effect still has scientists stumped.
A patient, dependent on pain-relieving medication, can be given a sugar pill in the drug’s place and the pain is still relieved.
No one really knows why it works. But it seems that sometimes, nothing can be very powerful.
It is wonderful that no one knows why we blush, laugh or dream.
It is extraordinary that US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot point-blank in the head in Arizona this week, can not only live, but appear to hear and respond. Her survival so far is remarkable and hopeful.
It is wonderful that the act of altruism has no rational explanation.
There is no explanation for why music moves us, or why we feel the urge to create art.
It is wonderful that we do not know why we kiss.
But other unexplained and unpredictable elements of life are, at times, not so wonderful.
While information from the weather bureau has this week become the stuff of sustenance and survival for the everyday person, there is so much about the weather that is unknown.
In fine weather times, the predictions of the weather presenter on TV can be a kind of light-hearted joke.
Seeing how many times the temperature is overshot or underdone makes for light conversation.
Meteorologists use weather prediction devices and equipment to assess the likelihood (or not) of rain, sun, wind and flood. But, despite technological advances, it remains an inexact science.
So while meteorologists and other specialists knew we were in for a rough ride, they could not have foreseen 21 days ago, when the first wave of the flood crisis struck, how wild the weather was to become on so many fronts.
The unpredictable ferocity, the underestimation of the power of the weather and the drastic effects it would have on people, animals, land and sea blindsided everyone from layman to expert.
And it is important to remember they, as the interpreters of the signs and carriers of the resulting messages, are not to blame for the havoc unleashed.
When the floods subside and the storms finally vacate the skies, it is important to look forward with hope, rather than scout around for something or someone to blame for what happened.
The flood rebuilding and recovery taskforce chief Major-General Mick Slater this week warned against a culture of blame. It is corrosive and divisive, he said.
We must remember those hit hardest by the floods are beaten but not bowed; they are survivors, not victims.
There is a huge difference. Victims look back; survivors look forward with hope.
And hope is a powerful motivator. Former long-time editor of the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology and renowned clinical psychologist Rick Snyder proved hope, applied and clung to, was empowering enough to overcome differences in physical ability, intelligence and socio-economic conditions in all manner of circumstances.
Snyder found that hope works when a plan is made to overcome a problem and a person is motivated to put the plan in action.
Those ingredients for success will soon be in place in Queensland.
But we all must commit and cling to hope in the long haul ahead as so many rebuild landscapes, lives, homes and careers.
In ancient Rome more than 2000 years ago, an ordinary boy named Marcus Tullius Cicero became a mover and shaker in politics, a game-changer and, for a time, a republic-builder.
But the things he is most remembered for today are his words and philosophies.
Among those he selected for utterance were ``dum spiro spero’‘.
Roughly translated from Latin, it means ``While I breathe, I hope’‘.
It could be hope for something better, something more, or just something else.
Like most powerful phenomena, the mystery of which words and phrases will stand through the ages is unforeseen.
Cicero could not have known how important to inundated and grieving Queenslanders his words would be this week, centuries after they were first spoken.
Even during floods, hope floats.
Jane Fynes-Clinton is a Courier Mail columnist.
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