Many of us are wary of the unknown. We get so used to our days being the same, we think knowing is better.
But the unknown can offer hope and possibility.
I realized this while working on my memoir this week.
I was writing about a time when our son’s prognosis wasn’t good. He was fighting his third cancer at only nine-years old. He was in the hospital and we were waiting two weeks to find out if the chemo was working.
I was spiraling with fear, unable to concentrate or engage with my children or husband. Walking down 2nd Avenue one morning, I had an aha: I could continue as I was or I could believe the treatment was working.
It wasn’t really a choice.
During that two-week period, Christopher couldn’t sleep one night. At 10:30pm, he asked me to go to the playroom. We went down and sat on comfy couches in the dark. Through a large window we could see the city lights. I imagined we were in a hotel room instead of Sloan Kettering. He asked me to tell him a Scooby story. I made him a deal: “I’ll create the story and you do all the voices.” My heart was light as he mimicked the Miner 49, the witch and other villains.
Had I not trusted and found hope and possibility in the unknown, we wouldn’t have had that experience.
Hopefully you’re not dealing with a situation like that.
But what are you waiting to do until you know?
What if not knowing offers a chance to explore, to learn and to live?
