Most people are magnetized to gravitate to (and to dwell in, and “as”) the known. They, unfortunately, cling to an existence exclusively in that superficial dimension. That dimension is a very limited dimension because one can only know (and accumulate) a very limited amount of things. To often exist as the unknown is foreign to them (and, for many, they never even considered it). The known is always of the past because it was accumulated in (and “as”) the past. Being of the past, the known always has a stale, secondhand element to it; it is never new, never totally fresh and living. Virtual, symbolic patterns, which constitute the known, are tokens and representations… not the actuality. It is good to use symbolic patterns often… but they are only temporary tools.
In so-called modern times, we were miseducated to dwell (and exist “as”) the known exclusively. Unfortunately, a mind that exclusively exists as the known is unbalanced and not whole. Society is a direct reflection of this unbalanced element, and insanity is rampant across the world. Interestingly, there is no procedure or method to step out of the known. All procedures and methods involve the known and are extensions of it. Procedures and methods involve time and the known is sequential (in its mechanical nature) and involves (and is) time. The unknown has the essence of nothingness to it (psychologically), and most people (unfortunately) are extremely afraid to be nothing psychologically. All want to be something, to attain something, to become something, to believe something, to get something, and to just continue to accumulate (sequentially). This exclusive sequential accumulation may be the very denial of true and timeless living.
Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog 
Growing up in the Fifties and Sixties we called them Cooters from a West African word.
Very cool, cigarman! 😉
Tom, you hit this on the head: “The KNOWN – it is never new, never totally fresh and living…symbolic patterns…temporary tools.”
Where is the sense of seeking new discoveries, new lessons, and new expeiences? Excellent points. Well spoken my friend. 👏🏼🥂👏🏼
Thanks, Kym… and, yes, the known consists of virtual fragments that are limited and never truly new. Freedom is beyond that. 😊
Oh yes Tom, freedom is definitely beyond such limitations. Thanks so much my friend for your insight! Cheers! 😊🥂🤗
“The unknown has the essence of nothingness” – Yes, the unknown embodies nothingness and that is what is so terrifying. Today, in earth crisis we are being forced to LIVE the unknown and this takes courage and an open mind – easier preached than lived!!! I don’t know about you Tom but I find this time of chaos a challenge… peace is often beyond my reach.
Well, Sara, it’s only terrifying if one hasn’t fully explored it. It (really) is blissful and sweet. I’ll have more on this in a subsequent post. 😉
I’m waiting….
OH, loved that turtle.
Thanks much, Sara, about the turtle. One can’t get one much younger than that! 😊
I’ve never seen a turtle that young before – adorable. The ‘unknown’ is scary for many of us and I assume this is why so many of us don’t like change. I quite like ‘change’ but I do find the ‘unknown’ scary whilst there is comfort in what I know. Therein lies the dilemma – for me anyway.
Margaret, it is not the unknown that is truly scary. The real source of fear and being scared is actually the “known” projecting what might or could happen. The true unknown is timeless and is not at all the real source of fear. Comfort in the known may be (oftentimes) a false comfort (in that it is clinging to the very root of fear and apprehension involving time).
I liked life better when it was more predictable – I don’t care much for how things have become, a rather scary prospect every time you exit your home. People with a chip on their shoulder, erratic behavior, from actions to driving … not a pleasant way to live. I like this petite snapping turtle Tom. His hooded eyes tell me he is following your voice perhaps?
Thanks about the sweet baby snapping turtle, Linda! 😊 Things are certainly more precarious and weird these days, than was the case in our younger days. There is more cruelty and violence now… and a lot more friction and lack of compassion… partially due to lousy, nefarious role models, like Trump.
But the unknown is not a real factor regarding our apprehensions with all this. It is the time-oriented known projecting “what might happen” that is the culprit.
I love the photo of the snapper. Just finished a sea turtle wall hanging as a gift. I’m with Socrates and Sargent Schultz. I know nothing. Everything I thought I knew changed so I’m adapting. Life has been a series of unknowns for me so I’m very good at that. I have no idea if there will be a tomorrow and if there is, what it will bring. Mostly, I pretend to make a plan and then laugh as it falls apart in seconds. Every single time. It’s more interesting that way.
It’s great to be adaptable and willing to change, Marlene! Too many folks are stuck in old habits, beliefs, and patterns about “how things are,” which renders them stuck in limited realms that do not truly reflect reality. Knowledge tends to often box people in; there is nothing free and very adaptable about that! 😉
Actually I once held a transparent newly born snapper in the palm of my hand. They are amazing creatures. I protected the mother snapper who was huge and very old from the cars near where she was laying her eggs. Sometime later the baby snapper appeared in our lawn and brought her to a nearby riverbed to safety.