How many times in your life have you stepped into the unknown?  Every first day of school with a new teacher or a new boss at a new job.  First day of beginning band was very different from the first day of band camp.  A marriage.  A divorce.  A birth.  A death.  Each life event takes us down an unknown path, despite the fact that others may have ventured in ways that are similar.  If the path only affects you, it’s hard but you only have yourself to worry about.  But when it affects others, stepping into the unknown is a time of creating scenarios, one of which will, hopefully be what is best for everyone.  Hopefully it will be the right one.  Hopefully you will have mentors who can guide you.

With most events, someone who has gone through something similar can guide and/or empathize.  They can give you an idea of what to expect.  But what happens when everyone is stepping into the unknown for the first time?  What if there is nobody else to go to for guidance or empathy because they too are diving into the unknown?  Is there anything around us that can guide us as to how to handle the unknown?

I am a control freak – I admit it.  I’m partially a control freak because, well, sometimes it’s all about me and I think I’m right.  I’m also partially a control freak because I don’t like surprises that might hurt in any way.  Sometimes when I’m not prepared, the other shoe drops.  Hence, the control freak.  In the last couple of months, I am working harder and harder to be a control freak in a situation where I feel I have very little control.  Because of that, I dip into very well known waters, anxiety and depression.  Staying busy, making things happen, distracts me from the unknown.  Until I sit in the quiet like I am right now and I realize, that control is a falsehood.  I’ve never been in control – other things are in control of me.  And so lately, I find myself looking to nature.

Despite the craziness that is happening, the leaves are coming out on the trees.  Flowers are blooming.  The birds are singing in the morning.  Animals that we normally don’t see are venturing out because we’re not allowed to or are afraid to step out into the unknown.  We have coyotes in the middle of town.  The earth, under the direction of a higher power, is doing its thing, showing us that while we THOUGHT we were in control and that the future of our planet was in our hands, the truth is that it’s actually doing better WITHOUT our hands.  Who would have thought – we were just in the way of it healing itself.  I wonder if the earth could teach us how to heal ourselves?  After all, we’re a creation as well.  A creation that is totally full of themselves apparently.

Instead we ignore the healing right outside our windows and spend our days full of “what ifs”.  How can we make things work just like they always have but using  different mediums?  Maybe we’re not supposed to do or make things the way they’ve always been.  Maybe this is our opportunity to step into the unknown and embrace it.  It’s going to be different, it’s going to be uncomfortable, and it could be wonderful.  Maybe this is the wake up call from the creator to get our stuff together, take advantage of the fact that things are crazy and that there are no rules.  We have an excuse to experiment and see if things work and if they don’t, we can blame it on the unknown.

Unfortunately we still have people who believe they are in charge and are afraid of letting go of the status quo, as it will cause them to relinquish some of the so-called power  they believe they have.  If the rest of us allow them to continue this way, the  renaissance I believe could be happening might be completely overlooked in our quest to get back to “normal”.  What if “normal” isn’t where the unknown is leading us?  Just asking.

The unknown can continue to be scary or it can be exciting and give us hope for a brand new world.  I’m looking for hope.