Accepting "I don't know"

[Tenryu]

Here's my odd take:
Not knowing what will happen feels like a relief to me. I wasn't always like this. I used to think I had to keep worrying about uncertain things, as if staying mentally on alert were necessary. That constant alarm mode was something I had learned.

When I drop the worrying, I actually function better. The imagined scenarios were a burden, not a help. It brings to mind my grandmother's old advice about not worrying over unlaid eggs.

There's also a kind of curiosity that comes with this, a sense of wonder about life itself, including its ups and downs. This not knowing gives me strength.

In Zen terms, confusion and awakening don't stand apart for me - they seem to show up right inside each other.
Seen this way, wandering in the fog doesn't feel like a problem. It feels like part of the path.

For me, accepting not knowing isn't an extra practice. It's a letting go, and that letting go supports me.

Gasshō,
Patrick
sat and lah

[DanielxSwish]

I try to keep this question with me at all times.. "what is my job in this moment?" This helps keep my mind clear and fully in the moment. I know my job will always be to help others so that is what I am focused on. "How can I be helpful right now?" I don't try to answer it, I just keep it and in many cases it helps me to respond to every situation in helpful ways.

Gassho,
Daniel
satLAH

[Douglas]

I was just thinking…

Two weeks ago, my mother fell down the stairs. She’s 78 and is being released from the hospital. Will she fall again? I don’t know.
What will happen to children with special needs after I pass away? I don’t know.
My company’s contract with the government ends this year. Will I have a job next year? I don’t know.
My kids came home from school with a cold. My wife has asthma and gets bronchitis every time this happens—will she be okay this time? I don’t know.

I know my problems aren’t unique (well, they really are but have similarity to others), and they feel endless. Embracing “I don’t know” doesn’t seem optional; it seems required. There is nothing to do but find out what happens.

I referenced Norman Fischer’s book earlier about the Bodhisattva Path. I don’t know what it was about that book, but it really affected me. Somehow, it seems like that path is the only path. (not being exclusionary!)

I downloaded the audiobook of The Way of the Bodhisattva by Shantideva and I’m listening to it now. It’s quite beautiful, and there is a lot of hope in his writing.

Gassho
Doug
sat LAH

[Rich]

This ‘don’t know’ can cut off your thinking so you can be more present in reality

sat/lah

[Washin]

I found that this 'don't know' is the only thing that actually works and helps walking day to day here.
Everything else charged with heavy emotions creates a lot of suffering and is destructive.
I stopped watching the news, except for a few minutes in the morning, to just stay informed about the world.

Gassho
Washin
st/lah