The unknown can be scary. By its very name it describes what we do not have knowledge of. The known is safe. It is what we have mastered, at least in some way. If not confidently proficient in doing the thing, we are confident at least in being able to identify how one is supposed to do it well. Looking at what I don’t know as a puzzle and searching for clues to figure out how to solve it is one way I encourage myself to try new things.
And you know what? I fail at things all the time. Most of the time I fail at things I really want to be better at. Communicating with others is a big one. I want to be a more active listener. This involves keeping my mouth shut more and letting others speak. At ultimate (frisbee) last night there were a few plays I was not involved in where I gave my perspective before being asked. By virtue of how ultimate works it was not my place to do so. I am allowed to have a perspective, and I am allowed to provide it when asked, but I must trust that the players involved can come to the best outcome. I must trust that if a different perspective is required they will request it. Listening, something I fail at sometimes, but I continue to work on it.
I want to get better at playing the guitar. This involves improving my knowledge of music itself to know what sounds good, and also improving the technical execution of skills which helps me produce these sounds. I am a moderately skilled guitarist. I can play chords well with only minor silences between transitions, and I can play basic to intermediate guitar solos with some competency. How to improve the speed at which I change positions with my fretting hand, and how to improve accuracy and speed of my picking hand, are both a mystery right now. At the moment it is a trial and error thing. I practice with the end goal of being able to play songs which are slightly too fast for me, without the knowledge to know how yet. I watch YouTube videos and ask my guitar playing friends for advice. Ultimately it is about accepting there is a lot for me to learn and to learn it I need to practice. If something is not working I must figure out why, and work to fix it. It’s a slow process, and sometimes the progress is invisible for months, but I’m getting there.
Venturing into the unknown doesn’t have to be a big thing. It can be as simple as cooking a meal we never have before. The part which can be daunting is being ok with failing. The meal might not taste good this time but we have knowledge we didn’t have before we tried. More salt? Different vegetables? Cook longer? Failing at something does not mean we ourselves are a failure. Quite the opposite. We have successfully ventured into the unknown and probably built some confidence. Keep progressing, keep working at making more good decisions each day than bad ones, and we will be living as best we can.
Today I felt flat, yet I found a way to finish writing this post. It is published a few hours later than I intended, and I haven’t yet done the dishes, but it’s done. This a mini victory for today. Now I’m home from ultimate I will dive into the dishes, and then the unknown; finishing the draft of the second to last chapter of Keiyu’s adventure.
My friends, what wonderful mysteries have you uncovered today?
Photo by Johannes Plenio from Pexels
Hard lines, heavy times, and handblocks 
Communicating has always been a mystery to me too. Being the staright forward person I am, there are times I speak before filtering out the bitterness of my words that could severely deteriorate my relation with the person I’m talking to. So my venture into the mystery of communication is to find out ways to express my opinion without offending others.
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Thank you for your comment. This is a noble goal. If we share our opinion on a constructive manner, even if it is in opposition to others, we open the opportunity for positive discussion. We are not responsible for how others respond to what we say. We can only manage what we say, and the manner in which we say it. I pray your journey held you find the ways to communicate that you need. ♥
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Really inspiring post! Failure is a very normal part of life without which one can not improve and instead of focusing on our failures we should focus on our wins. Also the small wins totally count even if it’s something really small like you said like making a meal or writing a post.
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Little by little we’ll find ourselves
Within our spirit, where we must delve.
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Interesting blog you have here, Hamish.
Yes, the struggle of depression is very real.
I would know, as a survivor of suicide attempts.
God’s blessings and strength to you!
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Thank you so very much for stopping by. Though we’ve just met, thank you for your honesty and openness in sharing. It is good you are still here to share. 😊
God’s grace and peace to you!
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