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Trust allows not knowing
Not knowing is what scares us when we’re waiting for something to happen.
We like certainty. We want to know.
Knowing lets us feel safe. It lulls us into believing we’re in control.
In fact, we invest a lot of energy in making sure we know what’s going on, even in places far away. When we’re on top of the news, it feels like we’re in control of our lives. But is that true?
What do we really know?
The honest answer to that question is: not much, perhaps nothing at all.
Each time we breathe, we don’t even know if we’ll take another breath. We assume we will but there is no guarantee.
We know everybody dies but we have no idea when it will be our turn. Maybe that’s why we’re so afraid of dying. It’s a known unknown. No wonder some people have trouble going to sleep each night.
When you experience a life event, is it better to interpret what’s happening from your store of knowledge based on your past experiences or to wait for the meaning of the event to unfold?
That part of your mind we call the ego always ‘knows’ what’s going on. But that knowing is always an interpretation based on the past. It does not allow for any new developments or unknowns.