My Rules: 12. Embrace the Unknown

“People don’t want their lives fixed. Nobody wants their problems solved. Their dramas. Their distractions. Their stories resolved. Their messes cleaned up. Because what would they have left? Just the big scary unknown.” – Chuck Palahniuk

“Do one thing every day that scares you.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

There is this common thing I hear some times about people fearing the unknown. This rule calls to put such fears behind and embrace whatever that unknown is. By embracing it and heading into it with arms open to it, I allow it to unfold in its purest, most beautiful form.

This is a continuation of my series about My Rules.

In my lifestyle, I never really know what’s going to happen next. Where I’m headed next is a big question sometimes. Why I feel the need to go certain places and not others is often unknown to me. It can be frightening and stressful, if I allow it to be. Or I can take this rule, embrace this unknown, call it an adventure, and go on to watch whatever happens next.

This can be expanded to everyone’s life, in ways uncountable.

IMG_0885I chose the Chuck Palahniuk quote above to capture a special elements of how this can be expanded, which I began to hit on at the start of this post as well. The fear of the unknown is a normal thing everyone experiences at one point or another in their lives. Sometimes, we even allow ourselves to continue on with distractions and drama and all of these headaches, all because we simply do not want to face that terrifying unknown lurking beyond it all. So we never move on. We never reach a potential that we really could reach.

Enter Eleanor Roosevelt pleading us to do at least one thing every day that scares us. She makes it sound so amazingly easy: just one thing a day. In reality, it is just that simple. Often in the case relevant here, it is even more simple than that. It is a net loss of action. Putting aside the distractions, allowing our lives to just continue on. Doing less. Embracing the unknown that lies beneath and allowing the beauty of it to manifest in our lives. If we weren’t so damned scared of it, it would be easier than anything else we do.

That is exactly what this rule is all about. Overcoming any fear of the unknown and embracing it. Think of it as a wonderful friend who we often spend far too much time away from. A wise friend that has a great deal to show you. So, embrace this friend. Allow it to teach you and take you on new adventures.