When The World Feels Uncertain
Lately, the world feels full of uncertainty—and with it, a sense of unease. In times like this, I find comfort in the ancient practice of “not knowing.” Here’s an excerpt from Meditation Illuminated: Simple Ways to Manage Your Busy Mind that explores this concept, using the story of a woman caught in a blizzard. The ideas are relevant to many situations, especially the shifting “weather systems” inherent in daily life.
Read the written excerpt below or listen to the excerpt from the audiobook.
The Practice of Not Knowing
“Not knowing is most intimate” is an important concept in meditation practice. Intimacy in this sense means the direct awareness that brings you closer to the immediacy of the present moment. By not imagining outcomes based on fears, judgments, memories, and the like, you can remain open and present to what is.
Consider the following scenario: A woman takes a taxi to the airport in near-blizzard conditions. Snow falls steadily, and cars spin out of control, yet she remains in a space of “not knowing” and remains calm about what will happen next. Will the car spin out? Will they get into an accident? Will she miss her flight? As each anxious thought begins to arise, she reminds herself that she doesn’t know, and the thought loses its power.
She only knows for certain that snow is falling and accumulating, and drivers are struggling with poor road conditions. She finds it freeing to notice her stories without getting lost in them—and instead, live in the immediacy of the present moment.
She simply notices when she wants to make an assumption about the future, and then she reminds herself that she doesn’t know. If you could listen to her thoughts, you might hear: Will I get to the airport? I don’t know. Will the weather be okay to fly? I don’t know.
Being comfortable with not knowing can bring enormous freedom and with it, awareness of the moment as it really is. It can take courage to let go of your “stuff” and the illusion of control—and instead, move into a space where you simply don’t know.
Spiritual teacher and author Harold Kushner also spoke of moving into the unknown when asked what happens after we die. He said he couldn’t possibly describe what happens next—if he did know what was next, it would be like a child who wasn’t born yet “knowing that in ten months from now she would be wearing red sneakers and watching television.”
We simply don’t know what the future holds. Each breath is a new beginning and a new ending. Staying in the immediacy of the present moment can be challenging, but it can be realized with practice. Sometimes the practice is simply one of remembering to focus on just this next breath. And then the next one. And so on.
The Kindle version of Meditation Illuminated is on sale for 99 cents through April 28th! (Regularly $8.99.)