#24: Not Knowing
«I don’t know.» No need to feel sorry about it. You have just touched the door handle giving you access to a world of possibility.
The concept of not knowing is so close to my heart. To me, «not knowing» is the twin of «saying no» (more on the latter another time). They are both door openers inviting possibility and opportunity.
Curiosity is one of the character traits I commend and actively look for in the people I surround myself with. I also try to practice my curiosity on a daily basis. Asking the question «what if?» or playing «The If Game» allow you to exercise your curiosity muscle.
Two individuals I admire for their generous work celebrate «the beauty of not knowing» and «towards not knowing», respectively.
Duke Stamp calls the beauty of not knowing one of 12 core principles in his inspiring online workshop Bonfire with Soul. In this particular module, he highlights the he practice of inviting uncertainty, the benefit of creating the conditions for magic to happen and the positive outcome of being attuned to the environment.
Duke quotes Krishnamurti, a spiritual rebel who used to teach where he now lives, as follows:
«To know is to be in prison, to not know is to be free.»
Steve Chapman, in his own particular style, lists «not knowing» as one of the cornerstones of the art of creative resilience.
According to Steve, the practice of not knowing is the foundation of creativity. Highlighting our historical predisposition to seek certainty, we tend not to feel comfortable in a state of not knowing. Starting the practice of getting comfortable with not knowing allows us to experience confusion, emptiness and not knowing without fleeing it. He calls it an invitation to wonder, create, explore and experience the strange and unusual.
The following two quotes highlight the potential of going down the path of not knowing:
«The problem of always seeking to make the strange familiar is that we avoid the problem of meeting the stranger and all that the stranger could teach us.»
(Luce Irigaray)
«Learning to see the world as strange makes us un-home in the everyday and thereby restores it as a potential place of wonder.» (Nietzsche)
Use the concept of not knowing as a gift to yourself.
No need to wait for external validation.
Instead, be kind and generous to yourself!
