Leaning into the Unknown: Practicing Trust in the Process
via Florence Scovel Shinn
Leaning into the Unknown: Practicing Trust in the Process
You are standing at the edge of something you cannot yet see. The not-knowing pulls at you, and your instinct is to reach backward toward what felt solid, what felt safe. But this morning, you're invited to do something different. You're invited to turn toward the uncertainty with an open heart.
Begin by finding a comfortable seat where your spine can be naturally tall. Rest your hands on your thighs or knees, palms facing upward. This is not a casual gesture. The open palm is an ancient language your body speaks to your nervous system, saying I am willing. I receive. I am not defending against what comes.
Take three deliberate breaths here. On each exhale, notice any tightness in your shoulders, your jaw, your belly. You don't need to force it away. Simply acknowledge it and let gravity do its work.
Now, bring to mind something in your life that feels uncertain right now. It might be a decision unmade, a door that opened unexpectedly, a dream that has no clear timeline. Don't solve it. Don't strategize. Simply let it be present.
Florence Scovel Shinn teaches us that "intuition is a spiritual faculty and does not explain, but simply points the way." Notice how your body wants to explain, to figure out, to protect itself through understanding. That impulse is not wrong, but it is not the only wisdom available to you. Today, you're practicing something else—the wisdom that arrives without explanation, the knowing that precedes knowing.
As Alan Watts reminds us, "the only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance." The unknown is not a problem to be solved but a rhythm to join. Your resistance to uncertainty is often more painful than the uncertainty itself.
Stay with your open palms for two more minutes. When your mind reaches for answers, gently return it to the sensation of your hands, to the breath moving through you, to this single moment where you are safe and held.
Notice what arises. It may be peace. It may be grief. It may be restlessness. Whatever surfaces is not a sign you're doing this wrong. It's simply the truth of what's moving through you, asking to be witnessed.
As you close this practice, remind yourself that trust is not belief in a particular outcome. Trust is the decision to stay open, to keep your hands unclenched, to move with what emerges.
Today, I practice releasing my grip on the outcome and instead trust the unfolding process that is already working through me.
This practice takes 5 minutes. Do it before checking your phone.