PEBBLE
Trust in the magic and beauty of possibility that dwells in the unknown. Something amazing is waiting for you, and it is just outside your comfort zone.
~Caroline Shola Arewa, shared by Kelsey in Fond du Lac, WI
BOULDER
True security lies in the unrestrained embrace of insecurity—in the recognition that we never really stand on solid ground and never can.
~Oliver Burkeman (The Antidote), shared by Donna in Owings, MD
PONDER
The unknown scares the bejesus out of us.
Have you noticed that? Like when you’re waiting for grades or the results of a health test, or you’re starting a job search… and your brain tries to map out every possible pathway, every possible problem—and then spins out trying to solve all of them. Gah!
When a threat is clear, our internal operating system can kick into planning gear: identify the issue, make a plan, take action. But when we don’t know what’s coming, that same system gets overwhelmed trying to prepare for everything that might happen.
We tend to think of the opposite of anxiety as calm, but I was recently struck by the idea that trust might be a more powerful antidote. Not trust that everything will go smoothly, but trust that whatever shows up, you’ll find a way to meet it.
You’ve handled hard things before. You’ve figured stuff out. You’ve asked for help when you needed it. That doesn’t eliminate uncertainty—but it does make it a little less terrifying.
So the next time your mind starts spinning out into all the what-ifs, see if you can pause and ask a different question:
What would trust look like right now?
Peace,
Paul