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A cloud of unknowing, also known as fog...

Not knowing can be pretty scary, full of unmarked places on faded maps and things that go bump in the dark. And here I am, here we are, at crossroad moment after crossroad moment, each one free of signposts I, you, we’d learned to expect.

Photo by Blake Cheek on Unsplash

Sometimes it reminds me of those times when I scrunched down behind my desk and tried to avoid eye contact with the teacher in grade school because I couldn’t “think of the answer”, I can still feel powerless, stupid, or both when fog prevails. It’s so easy to drop into an old current that carries me to an old place.

But, wait a minute. Breath by breath, each time it appears, the present moment is always a threshold of unknowing. So what do I want to remember to do when I slip into a fog bank?

I want to wait a minute. I want to slow down, stop - with or without my flashers on. I want to check my body, put my hand to my face: both there? Good. Familiar. And my feet? On the ground, or the floor? Supported by furniture? Good again. I want to look around me, name three things I see nearby me. Outdoors, maybe tree, leaf, stone. Indoors, maybe table, lamp, chair. Or identify three sounds I hear, three objects I touch. Whenever I do , I start to feel a little better, more present, more capable. For the moment, the fog has lifted, a bit of sunlight is shining in and that’s enought

Photo by Nick Shandra on Unsplash