Fear of the Unknown

One is never afraid of the unknown; one is afraid of the known coming to an end.

~ Jiddu Krishnamurti

Despite knowing full well, despite the cliche, that “all that stays the same is change”, there is a part of us that clings to what Krishnamurti is alluding to here. This is why I spent the last ten of the twenty years in my marriage, even though I knew that it was negative for both my daughter and I. It is like the abused spouse staying with their partner (and I believe that what I endured would be considered as abuse), or the unhappy worker who remains in the job that they hate. We fear that known coming to its conclusion. When I reflect on my life, I see many “ends” and “beginnings”, intermediated by the unknown. As life is, things ebb and flow. Rugby, my years spent as a Correctional Officer, teaching - each had its own epoch and challenges. One’s holding onto such things - just like in the previous entry on happiness - it always comes back to our expectations and insecurities. Despite it all, the sky has not fallen. We must, in the Taoist sense, yield to the winds of change as a tree, or, alternatively, snap and break from being rigid.