the unknown
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We all live in little worlds that we know. Our known world consists of our jobs, friends, and what we usually eat for breakfast or the things we do in our free time. In the known, we know where everything is, and what we need to do in order for things to stay the way they are. The known is the world of the old. Every day, we know what to do, and we believe we know who we are. We have plans for the future, because we think we can predict what will happen in the future. And because almost everything appears to be known, we feel safe and comfortable.
But on the other side of the world we live in, there is the unknown. This unknown could be a new job, a new love, a new thought, a new way of life. It is the place where we do not often go, unless the opportunity and choice is suddenly thrust upon us – or forced upon us.
I used to look into the unknown to see what was there, but I could see nothing. The unknown is the place where anything can happen – and this anything can be either good or bad. It is the place ruled by uncertainty, a place where I could not see the future. There are no guides, no signs, and no one to help you face and meet the unknown. Others may have gone there before, but those others were not me. I never knew if I was capable of meeting the unknown. I was uncertain if I would succeed or fail, if I could even handle whatever I encountered. I thought maybe I wasn’t ready, and what I had might not be enough. And because of all these things, I was afraid, and because I was afraid, I didn’t often walk into the unknown.
But I know now that the unknown is often a good place. It is the place of tests and challenges. When you enter into the unknown, you will be confronted with the new. And the new may be dangerous or safe. If it is safe, you will be safe. If it is dangerous, you will be required to summon all of your inner resources to meet the danger and survive. And because of this, you will give your all. And so whenever you walk into the world of the unknown, your body will be awake because it has to be. Your mind and heart will be awake because they have to be. You will feel alive. Because every moment in the unknown focuses on the present and the now. And whether what comes to meet you is dangerous or safe, it will be new. And because it is new, you will learn. You may succeed or fail in the unknown, but when you meet failure, you will have the opportunity to make failure your teacher, and learn from it. For once you make friends with failure, failure will no longer be your enemy. For I believe that it is often the case that once you make friends with failure and understand failure, to learn how to deal with and handle failure, sooner or later failure will introduce you to her twin, which is success.
And in the unknown, you will gain new knowledge and experience. The unknown is where we must go in order to learn more and understand more. Enter into the unknown, and your world will expand and become larger, easier, less frightening, and more understandable than those who stay in the known. The unknown is the place where courage and wisdom grow, and it is the place where we grow as well. The unknown is one of our greatest teachers, because it can teach us so much of life, the world, and ourselves.
And so I believe that the unknown is often where we must go to discover our own lives and happiness. The unknown may be a new job, a new friend, a new home, a new school, a new way of thinking, a new way of being – or even just a new idea, just like this paper. This is why many of our hearts are often unsatisfied in the world of the known – as if we are lacking something in our hearts and life that we can not name. For if we are not happy, this only means we do not know happiness – it is “unknown” to us. And what each of us lacks may be different, but for all of us, those things we lack lie in the unknown. All hearts wish to find their way to happiness and the gifts of life, and the way there will lead you through the world of the unknown.
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