U/B 30: One never knows

Plus: Matters of consequence

Hi. Do you want serious or woo woo today? If you’re down with both, start at the top. If you prefer mystically abstract, skip to One never knows.

---

Matters of consequence

Lots of feelings lately. I’ve been overly concerned with matters of consequence¹.

It me. I’m the businessman visited by The Little Prince

I’m trying to be lighthearted but my heart is actually quite heavy these days. There’s personal stuff, and then the world around me. A natural disaster devastated areas of my home state². The impending election is sure to devastate half the country. Many people are struggling to find work that doesn’t suck. Expenses are rising even though technology promises to make life easier (for who?).

Fear, anxiety, and judgment have been filling my head with chatter about what I should do and how I should feel. Like that I shouldn’t care so much about situations beyond my control. But I do care that people are suffering. I know believe that it’s both acceptable and useful for me to feel love and joy even when others do not. Love raises the frequency of the universe. And when I’m operating at a higher frequency, a higher level of consciousness, I can tell those voices to shush and let me return to my peace. But that hasn’t been happening.

I’m a little hesitant to share this because you might be tempted to give me advice. Have you tried hanging out with people whose energy you want to match? Maybe you need more exercise. I cut out gluten and it changed my life. It’s not you, it’s your lack of systems. And so on.

Some advice is useful and beautiful. I just don’t have the energy right now. I’m trying³. Truly. I notice declarative statements like “I just don’t have the energy,” which are often stories, not facts. So I look deeper to understand what might be driving that excuse. What might I be avoiding? What benefit am I getting from not taking more action?

You know what? That shit is exhausting. Constant self-introspection is a noble pursuit but not all that doable. At least not when you’re still healing. Which is what I think is going on with me. I recognize that I’m in a transition period, but goddamn how long is it going to last? I know believe the way out is through but I just want to be through it already.

I share this to remind you that one never knows what someone else is going through. Maybe it’s trauma or maybe it’s just the inertia of a socialized life. I don’t know. One never knows. Regardless, we’re not all living our best lives at every moment and that’s okay. We don’t have to hold onto it. We can return to it.

---

One never knows

I recently picked up a gorgeous little book, Start Where You Are by Meera Lee Patel, and was struck by this illustration.

Illustration that says “One never knows” from the book Start Where You Are by Meera Lee Patel

I’d just written my Daily Sticky post What if I don’t know anything? so the concept of “not knowing” was on my mind. Plus, I adore Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s book The Little Prince⁴.

I’d forgotten about this passage (translated from original French by Katherine Wood):

He carefully cleaned out his active volcanoes. He possessed two active volcanoes; and they were very convenient for heating his breakfast in the morning. He also had one volcano that was extinct. But, as he said, “One never knows!” So he cleaned out the extinct volcano too.

In context, it sounds like he means that one never knows what may happen so always be prepared⁵. Out of context — like Patel’s illustration — it’s more subtle. One never knows… what? Anything?

I’m beginning to believe that’s mostly true. That much of what humans think we know are actually beliefs. If that doesn’t make sense, read what I wrote in U/B 26 about making sense.

I wonder if the only way to truly know something for sure is to experience it, which uses our senses. We don’t have to believe it exists. We know it exists because we sensed its presence, its reality.

That puts “knowing” always in the present or past. Maybe it’s not possible to truly know something that hasn’t happened yet?

But it feels true

Beliefs about the future can feel certain, but they are only probabilities. Same goes for fears. All those matters of consequence — measuring, predicting, weighing risk, taking action, iterating, etc — give a false sense of control in an uncertain world. I’m not saying it’s wrong, but I do think it’s limited and limiting.

There is more to the universe than what we can measure or know.

Could you get comfortable with not knowing?

Thank you for reading. Your attention is a gift.

Love,

Kate

And now, some memes about knowing

1. This phrase is from The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was originally written in French so I have the English translation by Katherine Wood. “Matters of consequence” was Wood’s creative interpretation of the original French “choses sérieuses” which literally translates to “serious things”.

2. Want to support Hurricane Helene recovery efforts? Donate to the American Red Cross and look for donation opportunities in your local area. Many people are posting donation sites on social media. You can also Google “disaster relief + [state]” if you want to help a particular state.

3. This is the second time I’ve used the verb “try” in this piece of writing. I usually avoid it but it fits the mood today.

4. I have two copies of The Little Prince. One to read and one for pressing 4-leaf clovers. It’s a tiny paperback — not an efficient flower press — so I put it under our OED (Oxford English Dictionary) for weight.

5. Prepared for what? Prepared for what you think is possible or probable.