A Piece About The Unknown
Sonder Spotlight: a piece by Shreya
I fear the feeling of being lost- not being able to control my life, not predicting the outcomes, and in simple words, not knowing what to do next. It's strange how our brains always seem to have a to-do list prepared for us, constantly searching for the next task, the next step. But what happens when we don't know what comes next? When life throws us into moments where our mind short-circuits, where no answer feels right and our hearts ache with uncertainty- maybe even anxiety? And all we manage to say is a handful of words, 'I don't know'.
'I don't know'— three simple words carrying the weight of a thousand questions. They taste like hesitation, like standing at the edge of an unfamiliar road with no signs, no map and no way of knowing what's ahead. We can choose to stay there, but not for long, and many of us do, until we take a leap of faith- which feels like falling into a void at first, but slowly becomes something we trust.
In a world that celebrates clarity and confidence, admitting that we feel lost almost feels like failure. But is it? Am I a failure for not knowing what next? Do I truly understand 'failure' or has the society unconsciously rewired my mind to fear the unknown? Because somewhere along the way, we were taught that knowing what comes next is the only way to live. That uncertainty is a flaw, a problem to be fixed- and we won't survive without deciding our whole life in the present moment. But what if the beauty of life is found in the spaces between 'i-dont-know' and 'it-all-makes-sense-now' ? The quiet power of 'I will figure it out' holds that we are too scared to acknowledge? In the silence between question and answers, in the unexpected turns that lead us somewhere we never planned to go, we learn to trust the journey ahead.
Maybe life is more like the ocean— vast, unpredictable, and sometimes terrifying. We cling to the shore, confusing stability as safety, but the real magic happens when we let go, when we allow the waves to carry us somewhere unknown. Maybe getting lost isn't about losing control but about learning to trust the currents, to surrender to the nature against our will, to fall into the rhythm of something greater than ourselves. If life could be an ocean, then why do we fear tides? We mistake stillness for stability, forgetting that even the calmest waters are never truly motionless. Perhaps we were never meant to stay anchored in one place. Perhaps being lost is not an end, but a beginning. Perhaps the waves that pull us are not meant to drown us, but to show us we can float. And perhaps, the places we never planned to go are the ones we were meant to find.
There is a certain kind of beauty in not knowing. In allowing ourselves to exist without a destination, feeling the lines blur between restlessness and excitement, in permitting ourselves to not have everything figured out. Because maturity is when we realize some of the most beautiful moments in life happen when we have no idea where we are going. And before we know it, we are narrating a story which begins with, 'I don't know where I'm going, but I'm going anyway'.
So the next time the tide pulls you away from everything familiar, don't fight it. Let it take you. Let it shape you. Let it turn you. Because in the end, life was never meant to be navigated with a perfect map, where's the thrill in knowing every turn beforehand? Maybe life was meant to be explored, one uncertain wave at a time. "Not all those who wander are lost"— but maybe even those who are lost are exactly where they need to be, or are simply on their way home.
“My name is Shreya and my love for writing began before I even understood its magic. As a child, I used to steal my grandfather’s diaries, fascinated by the way he filled pages with thoughts and stories. What started as scribbling daily entries soon became my way of writing my heart out. Now, I write to capture emotions, untangle thoughts, and explore the beauty of being lost and found through words."
-Shreya