There is so much wonder and mystery in the world… and so much we can never know. We desperately want the “knowing” of answers to life’s big questions and work toward that end with studying and learning. Because we are seekers, the continuing unknowns and mysteries can be unnerving – all those big questions are pressing to be solved.
I believe though that there can be calm in the face of the unknown. Peace even within the space of all that can’t be understood. Safety in what comes next. Trust in the process of life’s unfolding. Where there is connection and a oneness it is enough. There can be sanctuary in the midst of the mystery.
As the Lakota say, “When you see Mystery, call it Mystery”.
The more these words are contemplated, the more they seem to be the most respectful and honoring of the possible ways to celebrate the enormity of all that can’t be known or named or understood. It is all just too big to be contained in human constraints. Feeble attempts to find words for these wonders make them small and limited. Better to let the power remain unnamed; call it mystery and feel the awe.
There is peace in the surrender to not knowing. Not knowing and still trusting. Loving without explaining. Feelings without words. Falling into the wonder…
“Once again I accept that life is uncertain and that the goal is not to become more certain about anything but to relax more into the mystery of not knowing what will come next.”
-Elizabeth Lesser
“Great Mystery, teach me how to trust my heart, my mind, my intuition, my inner knowing, the senses of my body, the blessings of my spirit. Teach me to trust these things so that I may enter my sacred space and love beyond my fear, and thus walk in balance with the passing of each glorious sun.”
― American Indian Lakota Prayer
“Life is an unanswered question, but let’s still believe in the dignity and importance of the question”
― Tennessee Williams
Each day has its treasures, each hour its wonders. When I find myself in the mind swirl of things to do and stuff to worry about, I am choosing more often to find something wondrous to put into focus instead.
ture while saying thank you out loud. Wait for it… The raven will grace you with a low fly-by, the trees will rustle and sing in the breeze, the sound of silence will illuminate the moment;
as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.”
“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature – the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.”
The writer, Rick Bass
