Embrace That You Don’t Know

-By Maurice Johnson

Imagine you are on a trip in the woods.  Imagine knowing that you have time to explore.  How would that change the way in which you navigate the terrain? 

Perhaps you make discoveries along the way, check out the seemingly randomness of the wildlife, see plants and rock formations that you couldn’t see otherwise in the city or town where you reside, and come out of the forest and perhaps stumble upon a majestic view. 

Now, take this into our current situation  of a global pandemic.  The regular stores that you would mindlessly shop in for items we may not actually need are closed.  Many of the signs read, “Due to COVID-19 we are closed indefinitely.”  The stores that are open are places that serve our very basic needs like sustenance, hydration, hygiene and fuel- officially deemed “essential businesses”.  And everything deemed “non-essential” is on PAUSE.  No schools.  No live sporting events.  No concerts.  No gyms.  Just. No.

In a sense, you are on that trip in the woods.  You have plenty of time here.  How to you choose to explore this new place?

Do you argue with those around you?  Do you look to blame others in regard to how you got here?  Do you become, angry, pout, stomp, kick and scream, “it’s not fair!”  Do you accept your circumstances  and navigate with curiosity and wonder?  Do you embrace that there is much you don’t know?

Not knowing is a clean slate to learn in real time and experience lessons effective immediately.

You shape your future by the actions you take (or don’t take) right now.  You are the master artist of your life, and this moment in time is a significant leg of your journey.     

And, you don’t know.  No one does.  You don’t know what life is going to be like after this passes.  You don’t know if it will pass for sure.  You don’t know what the economy will be like, what jobs and shops will come back, how much money you will have, what new systems will be in place.  You have no idea at all.  You could speculate and come up with theories and all of that.  But that would be only to calm your ego and the desire to have certainty.  In this particular journey the challenge is to let go and be in every moment and be grateful for that very second that passed.  Being honored to have experienced the experience of being alive for that much longer.  The secret here is to know that all change is indeed by our own design and it occurs in each moment of our existence.

If you choose to hold on tightly to what you know to be true, you may not leave room for learning, and learning is what life is all about.  In the context of this situation if you hold on to life as what is “supposed” to be, then you end up not being able to navigate this new territory with a clear and curious mind.  This will lead to the temper tantrum mentioned earlier and then some.  The adventure asks us to adapt.  It asks and challenges us to be able to adjust and become people that challenges the narratives that we had of ourselves.  Parents become teachers of their children having to build out schedules for them to follow in addition to the constant job of being caretakers and cultivators.  The business person who over works now has to be at home with the very family he/she is working to provide for.  The extrovert is in an introverted setting.  The Introvert will have to somehow communicate with others and work with them to get their basic needs met and so on.  The common calamity of running around unfocused for some now is at a grinding halt where they have to sit with their thoughts.  Not knowing can be uncomfortable, yet it is not a bad thing.

“Empty your cup so that it may be filled; become devoid to gain totality.” – Bruce Lee