Unicorn Wisdom: A Lesson in Finding Wonder

A few years back, my partner and I were hiking the Las Pailas trail in Costa Rica’s Rincón de la Vieja National Park, a place that felt like a journey back in time with a direct line to the planet’s primordial inner workings. The ground beneath us was alive. Around us, mud pots bubbled, steam vents hissed, and the air was thick with the smell of sulphur.

The landscape was a surreal collision of worlds. In one direction, a humid, vibrant rainforest teeming with life; in the other, a stark, ancient dry tropical forest that was desert-like. The contrast was breathtaking. Walking the trail was like standing between two opposing biospheres, a geothermal wonderland that felt very much like a scene straight out of a Jurassic-park film. I wouldn’t have been at all surprised if a dinosaur had lumbered out from behind the giant, ancient trees—but it wasn’t a dinosaur that appeared.

As we meandered down the dirt path looking for wildlife, a sound from the dense jungle stopped us in our tracks. Branches swayed and cracked, there was a loud rustling of leaves and the heavy tread of something big moving in our general direction. We both froze. The sound grew louder, closer, and a primal instinct kicked in, a mix of fear and intense curiosity. I looked at Tony and expressed through clenched teeth, “Do you hear that!?!?”. He looked back at me, pupils dilated…”How could I not hear that?!?….I think it’s coming this way!”….and then, just as sure as we had a sense something big was coming our way, all of a sudden….there…it…was.

About fifteen feet in front of us, a giant creature stepped calmly onto the path. It was like nothing I had ever seen before, a being straight out of ancient mythology. It was as if a mouse, an elephant, a rhino and a hippo had a magical romantic encounter, and this was the wondrous result. It had the soft, round ears of a mouse, a short, flexible trunk like an elephant’s, the sturdy hooves of a rhino, and the powerful hindquarters and girth of a hippo.

We stood motionless, utterly gobsmacked. My mind raced: What is that? Is it dangerous? Do we run? But the animal was the picture of serenity. It moved with a calm, casual grace, completely unbothered by our presence. It stopped, looked at us with what seemed like mild curiosity, and then, satisfied we were no threat, bent down to nibble on some greenery on the side of the path. In that moment of quiet awe, my hands moved on their own, raising my camera to capture this magical…unicorn?

Then, just as simply as it had arrived, it carried on its way, crossing the path and disappearing back into the dense jungle. The silence it left behind was deafening. We looked at each other, eyes wide, unable to process what we’d just witnessed. The feeling was indescribable—a potent cocktail of shock, awe, and exhilarating disbelief. And perhaps a bit of relief too.

We walked the rest of the trail in a daze, buzzing with the mystery. It wasn’t until much later, when we finally regained cell service, that we could use the photos to solve the mystery. The internet gave our unicorn a name—a Baird’s Tapir.

Fascinated, I dove down an internet rabbit hole and discovered that Tapirs have a prehistoric lineage and have changed very little over the past 20–35 million years. They’re often called “living fossils”. Apparently, they’re the largest land mammal in Central America and can grow up to be 800 lbs. Mostly nocturnal and shy, they are docile, plant eaters. Sadly, they are also an endangered species. Seeing one in Costa Rica is considered to be a very rare wildlife encounter—for us, it was our very own unicorn moment.

Discovering its name was fascinating, but the real lesson wasn’t in the identification. It was in the moment before we knew—that sacred space of pure wonder. As a coach, I realize now that the creature’s significance wasn’t in its appearance, but rather in the feeling its mysterious presence created within me.

The encounter was a magical and powerful reminder that no matter how much we think we know, the world holds marvels we can’t even begin to fathom. In our busy, predictable lives, it’s easy to lose our capacity for awe. We become convinced we’ve seen it all. For me, this creature shattered that illusion. It reintroduced me to a state of wonder—that magical space where curiosity overrides certainty, and the world feels vast and full of possibility again.

This state of wonder is essential fuel for growth. It is what allows us to question our own limiting beliefs, to see our problems from a new perspective, and to believe in outcomes that, just yesterday, might have seemed as mythical as a jungle unicorn. The real magic is not only knowing that tapirs exist—it is remembering that countless other wonders do too, just waiting beyond the edges of our awareness.