There is a paradox when it comes to our future.
On one hand, we want favorable change. What we have today is, in some ways, openly unsatisfying.
On the other hand, we're often unprepared for the form in which the future comes knocking, so we don't open the door.
Imagine there were no surprises, and the future unfolded exactly as you had pictured it. Before long, you'd be howling with boredom and doing something outrageous just to bring a fresh current into your life.
Deep down, you hunger to feel surprise, wonder, and awe.
Of course, only if that Novelty doesn't kill you.
Let's run a thought experiment:
Suppose whatever is coming doesn't frighten you at all.
Not terror. Not even the slightest hesitation.
How many surprises from Life would you be willing to accept then?
Exactly as many as it could give you, and you could hold.
And in that case, the more unexpected, the better.
Because the unknown feeds your growth, prosperity, and development.
So the real stumbling block is the feeling of being unsafe.
It all comes down to not trusting yourself: "I won't be able to handle whatever may come."
And that's true. The world, society, and the universe are stronger than any individual.
But who keeps telling everyone: "You are completely alone in this world and no one needs you"? For some reason, it's an especially popular belief today.
As long as you believe it, that's exactly what we experience: loneliness, despair, and isolation.
But scroll through your life and mark the moments when circumstances improved "by chance," when a stranger showed you kindness "for no reason," when a brilliant idea "suddenly" arrived.
Like a rope connecting a sailor's body to the ship in a storm, something holds you.
Psychology, philosophy, and religion each have many names for this connection.
What matters isn't what it's called — but the fact that .
The more often we remember this, the more open we become to what lies ahead.
Sincerely yours,
-Alexander
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