Since I got back from Ireland at the end of July, I’ve been feeling a bit untethered.

Somehow I am more grounded than ever, living to the beauties and joys of life and noticing a new space and expansion in myself. And yet….

I’m used to knowing exactly where I’m going. Goal-oriented. Task driven. But lately I find myself questioning a lot of things, including a lot of the structures I’ve created in my career and in my life. I recently sought out an insight reading from successful Feng Shui strategist Linda Binns. During our time together I told Linda that she was looking for guidance on “what’s my next step?”

Linda’s wise answer was the one my heart already knew (and my head hoped to avoid): “Your next step is to get comfortable not knowing what your next step will be.”

So.

I’m dancing with Uncertainty. AKA The Unknown. The vacuum. the abyss

He should be used to it by now; Uncertainty is my old companion. But I have to admit… I often act like she’s not there. I cover it with plans. I hide it with activities. I push her away with distractions and to-do lists. I pretend I know what’s going to happen today, tomorrow, and next year…and I hope it quietly passes to someone who pays more attention.

Here’s a surprise for you: I’m starting to think she’s not going away.

This week I was considering a personal life challenge and thinking about possible solutions. As I was pondering a very old answer to the even older challenge, a Crow/Raven flew right in front of my car and did a somersault before taking off.

Raven. One of my power animals. Trickster. Specialist in moving between worlds. Intimate with Death. Messenger from the Otherworld.

Yesterday I went out to pray and commune with nature. Raven/Raven flew over my head. So I lay down on the grass, closed my eyes, assumed the yogic posture known as “Corpse Pose,” and asked, “Raven, what do you want me to know?”

This is what Raven showed me:

When I feel challenged or threatened, I usually resort to one of these 3 responses:

– Attack (aka “find it/solve it/make it go away”. This is my most common response because it has often worked for me before. I find it less effective these days).

– Defend (this takes the form of justifying my current position. Hint: this one rarely works that well. I wouldn’t recommend it).

– Run Away (aka ignore it…pretend it’s not there. This strategy has been as successful as persuading my teenage daughter to enjoy eating kale and ruby ​​chard).

Raven was letting me know that none of these plans will work to resolve the old pattern.

Which begs the question: If none of the options I understand will work in this situation, what should I do?

Ah… back to Uncertainty, right?

I realize once again how uncomfortable this is for me.

And yet, isn’t it the resistance to Uncertainty that inhibits our evolution as a species? How often do we make the same mistakes, find ourselves in the old tired fights, because we see no other option? Perhaps befriending Uncertainty is a prerequisite for a new way of being.

And so I surrender to not knowing. I promise not to do anything until I come up with something new. And in the meantime, I commit to letting go, over and over again, of my mind’s attempts to solve my perceived problem through habitual behaviors.

I was reading about ravens and ravens yesterday and came across an interesting trivia fact. Wikipedia describes these birds as capable of “remarkable problem-solving feats”.

I trust that cool level solutions will rise to the surface of this pool of uncertainty.

I’ll let you know when that happens.

In the meantime, please feel free to share with me your own stories of transformation in surrendering to Uncertainty. I would love to hear them!

abundant blessings,

Kimberly Schneider
http://www.TheMavenManifestation.com