By Roshan Jayasinghe
Life is not a puzzle to solve, it’s a mystery to be lived.
From the moment we are born, we are immersed in the unknown. We don’t know what will happen in the next hour, the next conversation, or the next breath. And yet, we live. We move. We become.
The unknown isn’t a distant shadow on the horizon. It’s right here, woven into every unfolding moment.
Every time we blink, breathe, speak, or step, we are walking into the unknown. It is not rare. It is not occasional. It is constant. It is the fabric of life.
So why do we fear it so much?
Because we’ve been taught to believe that the unknown is dangerous. That not knowing means we are unprepared or at risk. But in truth, it’s not the unknown that creates fear. It’s what we think we know about it. The imagined threats. The stories. The projections.
What Truly Hurts Us Is the Illusion of Knowing
The mind craves certainty. It builds narratives to protect us from the vulnerability of mystery. But when we cling too tightly to those narratives, we close ourselves off from life itself.
We harm ourselves far more with our assumptions than with the unknown. We defend opinions that aren’t rooted in reality. We react to what we imagine instead of what is.
Imagination, untethered from presence, becomes a dangerous guide. It fills in the gaps with fear, with worst-case scenarios, with emotional fiction that feels real.
But if we become aware of this mechanism, if we notice how we project fear onto the unknown, something profound happens: we stop intimidating ourselves.
We meet the unknown with eyes wide open, not clenched in resistance. And we begin to live, moment by moment, in peace with the mystery.
Even in Relationships, the Need to Know Creates Distance
This fear of the unknown shows up powerfully in our relationships.
Two people may argue endlessly, not because one is right and the other is wrong, but because both are clinging to the illusion of knowing. Each person holds tightly to their version of truth, trying to define, defend, and control something that, deep down, they don’t fully understand.
Most conflict isn’t born from what is, but from the fear of what might be. A fear of not being heard. A fear of being wrong. A fear of what the other person might really feel, if we let the silence stretch long enough to find out.
But love grows in the unknown. When we soften our grip on being right, we open the space to explore, to ask, to listen. True connection begins when we say, “I don’t fully know, but I want to understand with you.”
Unknown Is Not the Enemy, It’s the Essence of Life
The unknown is not a threat. It is not a punishment. It is not a void.
It is the living, breathing essence of existence.
And the more we realize this, the less we fear it. Because the unknown isn’t separate from us, it is us.
Our very nature is unknown. Not in a way that is vague or incomplete, but in a way that is limitless, spacious, and alive.
When we resist the unknown, we are resisting ourselves.
When we fear it, we are fearing our own depth.
When we run from it, we are running from the truth of who we are.
But when we embrace it, when we stop trying to name, frame, and predict every part of our journey, we begin to feel at home. Not because we know everything, but because we are finally willing to not know.
To Return to Presence Is to Return to Peace
There is a deep intelligence in life, a rhythm that doesn’t require control. Nature doesn’t need a plan to bloom. It simply follows the season. Water doesn’t fear falling, it trusts gravity. The sun never asks what comes next, it just rises.
We, too, can live this way.
When we stop resisting the unknown, we find clarity. When we stop projecting fear, we find calm. When we stop needing to define ourselves, we begin to discover ourselves.
Reflection Prompt:
What would shift if you stopped trying to know? Where in your life are you confusing imagined fear with actual danger? Where are you running from what is already part of you?
Practice for Today:
Notice each moment as it unfolds. Instead of predicting or preparing, just be present. When fear arises, ask: Is this real, or is it imagined? Breathe into the space between thoughts. Let that space be enough.
Mantra:
“I am not afraid of the unknown. I am the unknown. It flows through me, within me, as me. And I am safe here.”
About the Author
Roshan Jayasinghe is a humanist thinker and emerging writer based in California. With a background in administration and a deep passion for social equity, he explores the intersections of politics, identity, and compassion through a lens grounded in nature’s own self-correcting wisdom.
Roshan Jayasinghe
Rooted in the belief that humanity can realign with the natural order where balance, regeneration, and interdependence are inherent. Roshan’s reflections invite readers to pause, question, and reimagine the systems we live within. His writing seeks not to impose answers, but to spark thought and awaken a deeper awareness of our shared human journey. Roshan will be sharing weekly articles that gently challenge, inspire, and reconnect us to what matters most.
