Traversing the Unknown
Light in the dark!
Traversing the unknown is the path we are all on. Our ego mind likes to know what lies ahead for us but the reality is we don't know and that can be frightening.
On one of our hiking adventures in New Zealand, we stumbled upon a trail and I remember thinking, it is an old rail bed. What can possibly challenge us? After walking for a few kilometres we came to a tunnel. My husband stopped and asked if I wanted to turn back or continue. I bravely said, “it is just a tunnel.” He reminded me that we didn't know how long it would be and our headlamps were back at the car. I laughed and said, “we don't need lights, it is just a tunnel through the mountain.” At first we had the light from the entrance and we could avoid the water puddles and navigate the rough terrain easily. As we got deeper into the tunnel it was dark. The fear had set in and my mind was conjuring up endless reasons why I wasn’t safe. I kept saying to myself, if I could just see the light at the end I would be okay. Reality check! We had no idea how far it was to the end of the tunnel. I had a choice to experience the tunnel through fear or be in my body and trust it to keep me safe. I chose the later. As we went deeper into the tunnel, I embraced my fear and was able to move beyond it. I was calm, centered and focused in the present moment. One step at a time, that was all I was responsible for. As I dropped deeper within my body, my eyes adjusted and I could see in the darkness. My body was leading me by sensing what lay ahead. In what felt like a short time we could see a small sliver of light and with each step it grew larger. When we exited the tunnel I was shocked to find out that I had just walk through a one kilometre tunnel without a head lamp.
I was safe and the trust in my ability to traverse the unknown had been strengthened.