The Gifts of Living in the Unknown

• Awakened Living

Do things seem particularly intense for you right now? For many of us, it feels as if we’re headed into a new world without a map, and we're being asked to evolve and create new tools for navigating this unknown landscape as we go.

There's no doubt that collectively we're facing unprecedented levels of change, uncertainty, and chaos. In addition to outward changes, we’re being called to transform internally. Humanity is undergoing huge consciousness shifts and many of us are feeling the call to evolve and embrace a new way of being.

Across the board, the majority of my friends, colleagues, clients—and even my own family—are navigating uncertainty and experiencing some type of transition right now. So how do we keep our sanity—not to mention sense of inner peace—in the face of so much change?

For many of us, living in the unknown can conjure up the old “waiting for the other shoe to fall” feeling. It can feel unsettling, elicit overwhelm, and challenge the illusion that we’re in charge.

Change can bring up all types of fears. But, if you’re willing to keep breathing and stay with this feeling, there is also a place within the unknown that is exhilarating, fresh, and filled with potential and rebirth. If you can move out of “paralysis by analysis,” living in the unknown can be an incredible opportunity for spiritual, personal, and professional growth. There were gifts that come from swirling uncertainty.

Living in the unknown can provide you with the opportunity to

• Examine your values (what’s most important to you?) and be willing to explore life from the inside out
• Practice gratitude: giving thanks for all you do have; a daily gratitude practice shifts your mood faster than anything else
• Define what happiness really means to you (your answer may surprise you!)
• Identify your anchors and what you need to truly rejuvenate and deeply nourish yourself
• Practice mindfulness and live more in the present moment; right here, right now is the only true stress-free zone
• Explore your contemplative side: Step back and take time to reflect and examine your fears and barriers to success
• Pause and examine how you see things (do you play the “what if” up game or the “what if” down game; are you an optimist or a pessimist?)
• Build a support network: Get comfortable asking for and receiving help
• Imagine the possibilities: Are you open to expanding into an even better life/job/relationship/business than you ever imagined?
• Serve others, volunteer: Nothing pulls us out outside of ourselves faster that working in a soup kitchen
• Feel so you can heal: Breath work, yoga, conscious movement are essential tools for navigating uncertain times.

Are you willing to explore the gifts that come from being in a state of limbo? Life is continually shifting: chaos, order, chaos, and so on. Can you be as comfortable with the wild unknown as you are with the forces in my life that ground you?

This article was originally published on Renée's blog at reneetrudeau.com.

Find out about programs with Renée Peterson Trudeau at Kripalu.