I’ve always been hyper aware of my surroundings.
It’s not always a good thing. On the plus side, I notice little things that most people miss. Which is great for spotting wildlife or noticing possible danger.
On the other side, this hyper awareness has had a physical toll. It hasn’t been good for my nervous system and cardiovascular system, to always be primed. I think I know where this comes from, and that is helpful, but learning to trust has been a more recent project. I’m sure my whole being, physical, spiritual, and psychological, benefit from being more trusting. So, I take a deep breath and tell myself, that right now, I am okay, I am safe, and I have everything that I need. And today my only goal is to be kind.
This seems to take some pressure off.
For those who remember Kevin, who used to post here regularly and occasionally gritched a bit, I’m channeling Kevin–we’ve had 3 questions in 4 days about the unknown or uncertainty. That’s a bit much. I’d rather have the themes change more day to day, then come back around again in a wider spiral. Others may appreciate the reinforcement and holding a concept up to look at it from multiple angles.
Coming back to add after reading people’s responses–I’d still like to have the themes mixed up a bit more, but I have great appreciation for the perspectives and thoughts expressed here. Maybe I was holding too much vigilance around patterns in the questions!
Because I’ll be traveling to a major city this coming week, I’m going to maintain my ordinary level of vigilance for travel. That is to say, I pay attention to my surroundings, I make eye contact with people, I won’t walk around staring down at my phone. I’m also going to be open to the experiences and the people unfolding all around me and look for the good.
My life would benefit from releasing vigilance regarding the people I encounter. I always look forward to seeing people who treat me kindly, but not everyone treats me this kindly. Instead of being disappointed by unexpected experiences, I redirect my mind to be grateful for all the nice people I meet. Kind people bring warmth, and unexpected negative experiences with others bring meaningful reflections. Happy weekend to everyone!
My Ngoc, it’s easy to overlook those who are kind to us. Human psychology has a way of gravitating us to the negative. It’s why we shouldn’t set operations in the natural world.
Life is trustworthy but when we are being overly vigilant, we miss the moment. In Aramaic (the language Jesus spoke) the word, “prayer” means “be open.” In my experience, when I began to trust life. I began to trust myself. As Joseph often reminds us: “stop naming, stop labeling.” and that includes oneself. I think that ‘building the capacity to trust the unknown” is a life long project that must be lived one day at a time. I read Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer’s poem of the day this morning and she describes waiting in an airport lounge for a delayed plane. She labels no one and her openess brings them together.
Among Strangers
I sat for hours in concourse A,
the plane delayed, delayed again,
surrounded by a young mother
with three hungry children and two
elderly couples who played endless
rounds of go fish and men in dark suits
on their cell phones and girls filming
dances for TikTok, when I looked up
and saw out the window a double rainbow,
ridiculously pretty against the slate sky,
and not wanting to be alone in my joy,
I touched the arm of the boy beside me
and he leaped up and ran to the window,
and all of us stopped to point or smile
or make jokes about pots of gold.
We will never see each other again,
but for a moment, we stood together
at the edge of delight, and the rainbows,
they just kept getting brighter, and I thought
it couldn’t possibly get any more lovely.
And the boy smiled at me. And then it did.
—Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
I don’t think anyone would describe me as being vigilant. But I’m not NOT vigilant. And I also don’t think of myself as “trusting” the unknown as much as just living into it – it is inevitable. Sometimes I get rather frustrated when what I have planned doesn’t work out. But I think I’m pretty adaptable most times. I think…I’m a processor – I just need time to process, look for the positive, be grateful, etc. Give me that and I’m good.
Christ came to save the world by replacing Adam. Letting go of vigilence to trust the unknown allows me to just let him into my heart. Strengthening my relationship with the Lord is strengthening my relationship with my root people. After all, he knows just who to put into our lives who are best for us throughout our journey. Building upon what I said yesterday concerning my preference for staying at home over traveling, I’d still travel with my family.
People go on vacation for exploration. I see that as an extra. As long as I have my family, good food, AC, and a place to stay, I’m good to go.
In the midst of a career change, I’m doing a lot of little experiments. Can I get this group together? Will that person respond to my offer to help? Does this idea have legs?
A lot of the time, the little experiment reveals something useful, but its original goal dissolves. Another way of saying that is that my experiments create a lot of failures. Each failure comes with a whoosh of disappointment, but the truth is, experiments by their nature leave a trail of failures. I can release vigilance around the experiments not working–it’s part of the process. And trust that the process itself is the path.
If you’re getting a group together, I want to recommend The Art of Gathering, by Priya Parker. It makes organizing a gathering of any size–even lunch with a friend–a much more thoughtful process than I’d ever considered, even after years of organizing both large and small events. Not that some things won’t fail to deliver as hoped, but it may give you some food for thought.
Katrina, the biggest thing I learned about the Japanese trip is that even their alphabet system is different from ours too. Accessability helps no matter the condition. Every second preserved makes a bigger difference than we realize.
I don’t consider myself a very “vigilant” person, but I am being vigilant right now about my nursing licensing exam on September 30. I probably should trust that I will pass based on my own basic knowledge and skill level which has improved over the past six years. I believe that I am competent for a new grad. Until then, I will study a little bit every day and also make time for adventures, I’m not going crazy studying or anything at this time.
It seems like you’re thinking about this exam early, and that’s a good sign. I don’t know about your nursing test, but I find tests so weirdly specific–like you need to know what they want from you. The one time I monumentally failed a test, it was because I hadn’t known what to expect and hadn’t practiced the right things, even though I knew how to do the trade at hand very well. Any case, good luck with your prep, and it seems like you have a healthy attitude!
You’re right, the questions are either select all that apply or multiple choice and I think that actually understanding the wording of the questions is more important than skill/knowledge! So I am practicing a LOT of mock quizzes.
I’ve tried to learn on this: reflecting after a tense episode that it worked out okay, as it almost always does. Trying now to repeat this to myself within a tense episode. Repeating what I am grateful for also works! It’s a beautiful temperate weekend in the northeast!
This question required a few re-reads… I find it difficult to ‘trust the unknown’ regarding our government.
One day at a time. Focus on breath. Stay present. Loving Kindness. Humor of course:)
The latest hit for my world is that they’re purging everything related to bike lanes from official federal websites–including proven research around how they improve safety for everyone, including people driving–and removing bike infrastructure from eligibility for federal funding. I have zero basis for trust and every reason to maintain vigilance. (https://www.npr.org/2026/07/23/nx-s1-5900901/bike-lanes-dot-websites)
I’ll celebrate that national day tonight at my sister-in-law’s house, though!
I’m going to trust the millions of people in the US whose hearts and souls are in the right place. Who have a moral compass and who believe in and act in the interest of human rights. They are who deserve my time and energy.
I just fed the barn cats and was gazing at the Milky Way. Fortunate to live in a locale where there is little to no human produced light to interfere. Dark Skies; I believe is the phrase. The concept of vigilance is hard wired into beings. Asses, stay, fight or flee. Trusting the unknown is also wired in, I believe, but maybe not for all. Think of all the inventions, discoveries, foods, conveniences. Curiosity killed the cat; satisfaction brought him back. I feel vigilance and trust in the unknown are light and dark of a mental state. Can not have one fully, without the other fully. Much good can come from trust of the unknown and much good can come from vigilance. Just as the opposite outcome is also possible. Balance. The proper measurement. Just like a good cook. A dash of this a pinch of that.
Peace, Love & Light.
Yes! At times it would be foolish to relax one’s vigilance, at other times being open and trusting is the best possible approach.
I grew up in the country outside Lewiston, Idaho, surrounded by farmlands. I remember lying on my back in the yard looking at a sky full of stars, so big, so bright, some of them seemingly close. I don’t get out into places away from light pollution as often as I could, and this is a reminder to seek that experience of a truly dark sky.
I do very much appreciate that I’m living in a small enough town (around 50,000 people) in a neighborhood near a very large park, meaning no streetlights that direction. I’m able to look out my window at night before going to bed, or go outside, and see stars in the sky.
I have a lot of unknowns right now. I can choose to let fear and stress be at the forefront or I can choose faith and trust that everything is unraveling into something better.
I have moments of both but both my heart and gut seem to override my uncertain thoughts.
I understand the question but I think for me I need that vigilance, I just need to focus it on trusting the unknown.
I think many of us spend so much time trying to control every outcome that we forget growth often happens in uncertainty. Releasing constant vigilance doesn’t mean giving up—it means trusting that not everything needs to be predicted or managed. Sometimes the greatest opportunities appear when we allow ourselves to embrace the unknown with patience and confidence. Check This URL: https://cinehd4u.app/
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I’ve always been hyper aware of my surroundings.
It’s not always a good thing. On the plus side, I notice little things that most people miss. Which is great for spotting wildlife or noticing possible danger.
On the other side, this hyper awareness has had a physical toll. It hasn’t been good for my nervous system and cardiovascular system, to always be primed. I think I know where this comes from, and that is helpful, but learning to trust has been a more recent project. I’m sure my whole being, physical, spiritual, and psychological, benefit from being more trusting. So, I take a deep breath and tell myself, that right now, I am okay, I am safe, and I have everything that I need. And today my only goal is to be kind.
This seems to take some pressure off.
For those who remember Kevin, who used to post here regularly and occasionally gritched a bit, I’m channeling Kevin–we’ve had 3 questions in 4 days about the unknown or uncertainty. That’s a bit much. I’d rather have the themes change more day to day, then come back around again in a wider spiral. Others may appreciate the reinforcement and holding a concept up to look at it from multiple angles.
Coming back to add after reading people’s responses–I’d still like to have the themes mixed up a bit more, but I have great appreciation for the perspectives and thoughts expressed here. Maybe I was holding too much vigilance around patterns in the questions!
Because I’ll be traveling to a major city this coming week, I’m going to maintain my ordinary level of vigilance for travel. That is to say, I pay attention to my surroundings, I make eye contact with people, I won’t walk around staring down at my phone. I’m also going to be open to the experiences and the people unfolding all around me and look for the good.
My life would benefit from releasing vigilance regarding the people I encounter. I always look forward to seeing people who treat me kindly, but not everyone treats me this kindly. Instead of being disappointed by unexpected experiences, I redirect my mind to be grateful for all the nice people I meet. Kind people bring warmth, and unexpected negative experiences with others bring meaningful reflections. Happy weekend to everyone!
My Ngoc, it’s easy to overlook those who are kind to us. Human psychology has a way of gravitating us to the negative. It’s why we shouldn’t set operations in the natural world.
Life is trustworthy but when we are being overly vigilant, we miss the moment. In Aramaic (the language Jesus spoke) the word, “prayer” means “be open.” In my experience, when I began to trust life. I began to trust myself. As Joseph often reminds us: “stop naming, stop labeling.” and that includes oneself. I think that ‘building the capacity to trust the unknown” is a life long project that must be lived one day at a time. I read Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer’s poem of the day this morning and she describes waiting in an airport lounge for a delayed plane. She labels no one and her openess brings them together.
Among Strangers
I sat for hours in concourse A,
the plane delayed, delayed again,
surrounded by a young mother
with three hungry children and two
elderly couples who played endless
rounds of go fish and men in dark suits
on their cell phones and girls filming
dances for TikTok, when I looked up
and saw out the window a double rainbow,
ridiculously pretty against the slate sky,
and not wanting to be alone in my joy,
I touched the arm of the boy beside me
and he leaped up and ran to the window,
and all of us stopped to point or smile
or make jokes about pots of gold.
We will never see each other again,
but for a moment, we stood together
at the edge of delight, and the rainbows,
they just kept getting brighter, and I thought
it couldn’t possibly get any more lovely.
And the boy smiled at me. And then it did.
—Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
I love that more than one of us here is a Rosemerry fan. This one is beautiful.
I don’t think anyone would describe me as being vigilant. But I’m not NOT vigilant. And I also don’t think of myself as “trusting” the unknown as much as just living into it – it is inevitable. Sometimes I get rather frustrated when what I have planned doesn’t work out. But I think I’m pretty adaptable most times. I think…I’m a processor – I just need time to process, look for the positive, be grateful, etc. Give me that and I’m good.
Christ came to save the world by replacing Adam. Letting go of vigilence to trust the unknown allows me to just let him into my heart. Strengthening my relationship with the Lord is strengthening my relationship with my root people. After all, he knows just who to put into our lives who are best for us throughout our journey. Building upon what I said yesterday concerning my preference for staying at home over traveling, I’d still travel with my family.
People go on vacation for exploration. I see that as an extra. As long as I have my family, good food, AC, and a place to stay, I’m good to go.
In the midst of a career change, I’m doing a lot of little experiments. Can I get this group together? Will that person respond to my offer to help? Does this idea have legs?
A lot of the time, the little experiment reveals something useful, but its original goal dissolves. Another way of saying that is that my experiments create a lot of failures. Each failure comes with a whoosh of disappointment, but the truth is, experiments by their nature leave a trail of failures. I can release vigilance around the experiments not working–it’s part of the process. And trust that the process itself is the path.
We make the path by walking it, yes.
If you’re getting a group together, I want to recommend The Art of Gathering, by Priya Parker. It makes organizing a gathering of any size–even lunch with a friend–a much more thoughtful process than I’d ever considered, even after years of organizing both large and small events. Not that some things won’t fail to deliver as hoped, but it may give you some food for thought.
Amen
And through experimentation and even failures, something is always learned.
Katrina, the biggest thing I learned about the Japanese trip is that even their alphabet system is different from ours too. Accessability helps no matter the condition. Every second preserved makes a bigger difference than we realize.
I don’t consider myself a very “vigilant” person, but I am being vigilant right now about my nursing licensing exam on September 30. I probably should trust that I will pass based on my own basic knowledge and skill level which has improved over the past six years. I believe that I am competent for a new grad. Until then, I will study a little bit every day and also make time for adventures, I’m not going crazy studying or anything at this time.
It seems like you’re thinking about this exam early, and that’s a good sign. I don’t know about your nursing test, but I find tests so weirdly specific–like you need to know what they want from you. The one time I monumentally failed a test, it was because I hadn’t known what to expect and hadn’t practiced the right things, even though I knew how to do the trade at hand very well. Any case, good luck with your prep, and it seems like you have a healthy attitude!
You’re right, the questions are either select all that apply or multiple choice and I think that actually understanding the wording of the questions is more important than skill/knowledge! So I am practicing a LOT of mock quizzes.
I’ve tried to learn on this: reflecting after a tense episode that it worked out okay, as it almost always does. Trying now to repeat this to myself within a tense episode. Repeating what I am grateful for also works! It’s a beautiful temperate weekend in the northeast!
Enjoy your weekend, Christina!
Yes, it is really nice weather here too, in southern Ontario!
This question required a few re-reads… I find it difficult to ‘trust the unknown’ regarding our government.
One day at a time. Focus on breath. Stay present. Loving Kindness. Humor of course:)
Enjoy the weekend everyone 🙂
https://nationaltoday.com/national-wine-and-cheese-day/
The latest hit for my world is that they’re purging everything related to bike lanes from official federal websites–including proven research around how they improve safety for everyone, including people driving–and removing bike infrastructure from eligibility for federal funding. I have zero basis for trust and every reason to maintain vigilance. (https://www.npr.org/2026/07/23/nx-s1-5900901/bike-lanes-dot-websites)
I’ll celebrate that national day tonight at my sister-in-law’s house, though!
Michele, I love how you’re able to put things in simple terms. Humanity has a way of making things more complicated than they need to be.
I’m going to trust the millions of people in the US whose hearts and souls are in the right place. Who have a moral compass and who believe in and act in the interest of human rights. They are who deserve my time and energy.
Thank you for this, Drea. You’re right.
I just fed the barn cats and was gazing at the Milky Way. Fortunate to live in a locale where there is little to no human produced light to interfere. Dark Skies; I believe is the phrase. The concept of vigilance is hard wired into beings. Asses, stay, fight or flee. Trusting the unknown is also wired in, I believe, but maybe not for all. Think of all the inventions, discoveries, foods, conveniences. Curiosity killed the cat; satisfaction brought him back. I feel vigilance and trust in the unknown are light and dark of a mental state. Can not have one fully, without the other fully. Much good can come from trust of the unknown and much good can come from vigilance. Just as the opposite outcome is also possible. Balance. The proper measurement. Just like a good cook. A dash of this a pinch of that.
Peace, Love & Light.
Yes! At times it would be foolish to relax one’s vigilance, at other times being open and trusting is the best possible approach.
I grew up in the country outside Lewiston, Idaho, surrounded by farmlands. I remember lying on my back in the yard looking at a sky full of stars, so big, so bright, some of them seemingly close. I don’t get out into places away from light pollution as often as I could, and this is a reminder to seek that experience of a truly dark sky.
I do very much appreciate that I’m living in a small enough town (around 50,000 people) in a neighborhood near a very large park, meaning no streetlights that direction. I’m able to look out my window at night before going to bed, or go outside, and see stars in the sky.
Good point on balance, Joseph. I like your perspective.
Thoughtfully balanced, Joseph. Great way to start my day. Thank you.
I have a lot of unknowns right now. I can choose to let fear and stress be at the forefront or I can choose faith and trust that everything is unraveling into something better.
I have moments of both but both my heart and gut seem to override my uncertain thoughts.
I understand the question but I think for me I need that vigilance, I just need to focus it on trusting the unknown.
I think many of us spend so much time trying to control every outcome that we forget growth often happens in uncertainty. Releasing constant vigilance doesn’t mean giving up—it means trusting that not everything needs to be predicted or managed. Sometimes the greatest opportunities appear when we allow ourselves to embrace the unknown with patience and confidence. Check This URL: https://cinehd4u.app/
So spammy/scammy, I clicked that link and it is to some sort of malware, I’m sure. Can you not?
I reported this. It happens once in a while, unfortunately. We can email the team here and they remove it when they can.