#1284 - like walking
Eventually we realize that not knowing what to do is just as real and just as useful as knowing what to do. Not knowing stops us from taking false directions. Not knowing what to do, we start to pay real attention. Just as people lost in the wilderness, on a cliff face or in a blizzard pay attention with a kind of acuity that they would not have if they thought they knew where they were. Why? Because for those who are really lost, their life depends on paying real attention. If you think you know where you are, you stop looking. — David Whyte
I don't think there's much to add to these words from Whyte.
Not knowing is so powerful yet so frightening.
What's out there, in the not known? What will emerge? Joy or pain, success or failures, friends or foes?
When you give in to fear, you freeze. You just stand still, consumed by your alertness. You become so enthralled in paying attention and looking around for dangers that you forget to move.
As Whyte wrote, not knowing what to do is just as real and just as useful as knowing what to do.
But there are a few caveats.
The first is that you need to embrace not knowing as a gift. Pay attention, but embrace it because all the possibilities also lie there.
But then, use what you know to move forward and step into the unknown.
The second caveat is that you need to keep a learning mindset. Pay attention to the unknown to learn and expand your knowledge.
Isn't it how you walk? One foot can step forward into the unknown because the other one stays firm on the known ground.
And then you repeat.