We humans seem to have an insatiable need to know. This is a good thing – except when it isn’t.
It certainly drives innovation, discovery and growth: sailing to the “edge of the earth,” curing diseases, understanding the laws of physics.
It can also limit our thinking and imagination: religions that envision God as, in essence, a really, really powerful and somewhat moody dude (really??), and you, when you feel the truth of something, but cannot allow it.
But here’s the thing. There is always a time gap between sensing the truth of something and understanding the “why” of it. Einstein intuited the theory of relativity long before he was able to prove it. I often “feel” my way into the right direction for a coaching client long before I have enough information to name why that was the right direction.
Two questions guide our ability to live with this mystery. First, do you trust yourself? Second, are you willing to risk being wrong?
When you sense that your now dead mother is “in the room” with you or “speaking to you,” do you ignore this feeling, because you can’t explain how/if this is possible, or do you shut up and and do your best to tune into the feeling?
When you sense that a person or job or choice is wrong (or right) for you, do you listen? Those who do, often discover later that this “spidey-sense” had kept them safe or led them right to their source of happiness or success.
”But what if I’m wrong? Nobody wants to play the fool!” Nope, nobody does. Neither did Einstein or the guy who sailed toward the edge of the earth, but that was the only way they could navigate the gap between what they knew in their bones and actually knowing it in their heads. No guts, no glory.
That’s the way it is with you, too. The good news is that each time you trust yourself, you get a little better at deciphering the feelings that are worth the risk. Oh, you might look silly from time to time, but all the great ones looked silly, too – right up until they didn’t.
So, if you really want to know, you’ve got to travel through not knowing first. Allow for the mystery. Stand quietly in the uncertainty. Tune into that voice inside (is it real?) and take the risk that it might be your own wisdom speaking to you.
Take the risk that there may be much more to you – and to this exquisitely ordered Universe – than you can imagine, much less explain.
As you do, you blaze the trail for discovery – and experience the power of mystery.
