What I Know for Sure

Are you ready?  I’m going to give you the magic.  I’m about to tell you the secret of life.  Wait for it.  After years of living, after thousands of wonderful moments and millions of mistakes.  In all my infinite wisdom, this is what I know for sure…I have a lot to learn.

What’s even more, though…I hope I never learn it all.  Wait, what??

Because this would imply that there’s nothing new to look forward to, and that I would never get it wrong (What a ridiculous responsibility!).  To never have the chance to begin again with the words, “I was wrong” and “I’m sorry.” To never have the privilege of being forgiven…that would mean to never feel those complementary moments of empowerment or relief or courage.

There’s a quote I love from author Mandy Hale that says, ”It’s ok to be scared.  Being scared means you’re about to do something really, really brave.”  It can be scary to not have the answer or to not know what to do.  It can feel like a weakness to say, “I don’t know.”  But, I believe that opposites exist, in part, to define one another.  Scared defines brave, and vice-versa.

Bravery is one of my proudest qualities.  I have spent a lot (A LOT) of time not knowing and being unsure…unsure of what comes next, of what the other person meant, of what to say, of how to get that job, of whether I did the right thing, of what will happen tomorrow, of whether I will get better, of how to spell dachshund (thank you spell-check!).

One other thing I do know for sure, though…IS OK…is that when I don’t know, I say I don’t know (and then I find out).

THAT is where the excitement is!  In finding out what comes next.  In discovering new things.  In learning the lessons.  In making relationships stronger.  In living through it.  In wondering and in discovering – that’s the adventure.

I’m glad I don’t know it all.  My biggest hope has always been to move people and to make the world better.  I don’t know yet how I’ll do that, and I know there’s a lot I don’t know, but I am convinced that if I ask the question and if I am brave, maybe someone else will decide to be brave, too.