Many of us, including myself, may be afraid of the future. We don’t know what may come and that terrifies us. Personally, I am not a huge fan of change. I like to keep things in a particular order, and internally freak out when something becomes different. It even bothers me when the apps on my phone get changed around. That’s why the Unknown scares me… I never know what changes it will bring, and I hate that part. How do people go through life blissfully without knowing what’s ahead of them? With possibly no preparation for anything that could be coming?
Some of us may like to feel “prepared” for what’s coming by maybe reading their horoscopes. I’ll admit, I look at my horoscope every Monday to get a glimpse of the rest of my week. OK, maybe horoscopes are full of crap, but something about having an idea of what I may deal with just makes me feel better for the rest of the week.
I got the idea of looking at my horoscope every Monday, along with other ideas, from one of my favorite books, "Something Like Fate" by Susane Colasanti. The main character, Lani, is not a huge fan of the Unknown, and also likes to feel prepared for the future in some way. Her character may represent a lot of us and how we feel towards the future. In the book, Lani shows how she struggles with the Unknown and fears for the future.
However, in the book, Lani also shows in the end how the Unknown can also be really exciting (OK, this book is also a love story, so obviously it’s going to have a happy ending, but still). Although I don’t favor change and dislike not knowing what is going to happen in the next 10 minutes, I’m gradually learning that change isn’t always a bad thing. Things change every day, hour and minute. Without realizing sometimes, we grow accustomed to change as soon as it happens. We learn to accept things and move forward. If nothing changed, we’d all be standing still.
When it comes to the Unknown, we know there is no clear destination. Maybe for some of us, our lives can change in an instant. But that one change could be the best thing in our lives. Maybe not knowing is OK because it somehow forces us to live our lives the best we can and teaches us to enjoy every moment we have. Because if we’re always worrying about what happens next, are we really living?
So here’s to us. Here’s to enjoying ourselves and embracing the Unknown. It’s time for us to stop worrying and just start living.
