How To Be Bold In The Face Of The Unknown

I can promise you the page will always turn. Each chapter will roll into the next one, with words still undiscovered lying ahead. The implication for us is that our story always promises change.  

The routines that strap us into security will always untie, freeing us into a new space. The idea of freedom is one so many of us crave. But sometimes, once it arrives, we can feel freighted by the sheer scale of it. It’s like being launched into the great unknown, ejected from our warm little spaceship to float in an unmapped abyss. Seemingly untethered. Completely suspended from the familiarity of what we once knew. Though that can feel exciting, this chance to do the things you’ve always wanted, it can equally be overwhelming. What if you don’t know what move is next? What if the next star you really shoot for, you miss? What if nothing ever feels as safe, as known, as what you’re leaving behind? 

As we move forward, we can experience growing pains. These almost muscular aches stem from a fear of letting go, met with the fear of what’s lying ahead. Tied together, they knot in our stomachs. The instinctive reply is to press our heels deeper in the ground. To lock ourselves in where we are. Elbows in and chin tucked, we hook back into the known, never to discover all the wonders just a page-turn away. 

Suspended in the in-between, the space between those two worlds of the old and the new, there’s an opportunity to be bold. To see those uncharted corners of your life as a realm of unbelievable sights, the likes of which you’ve never seen. Rekindle the curiosity that once led us to run between tall grass and towering trees just to see more. Scraped knees long forgotten as we’d find a stick fit for a sword or flowers perfect for a crown. 

With any change, the thing that roots you and makes sure you never feel lost is that even in the vastness of space, you are surrounded by stars. Scattered lights, some near and some far, that lift the darkness as you go. We aren’t anchored to things or places. Even if you feel it, you will never be completely untethered. Because our true ties go much deeper. We’re connected to the ones we love, the ones who love us. We hold onto the hands that have held us. We lean on every past version of ourselves who did so well to get us here. 

The path behind you can serve as a reminder, a promise, that you’ve done this before. You can do it again. True reassurance emerges from looking at yourself, your strengths, your values, the places you’ve walked before. True comfort comes from knowing that if there is love, you will be okay. No path will lead you astray; no turn will take you too far. You will always be found. 

So, lean into the spaces undiscovered. Wade through waters untouched, wander through landscapes unseen. Notice how the sun rises differently here, how the light catches in new ways. Feel life flesh out its texture, becoming richer in the discovery of all its potential. 

Be bold and turn the page.