Walking Into the Fog: Trusting the Unknown in Life and Work
Hello friends, and happy last day of 2024.
One of my highlights this year was a late-fall mountain biking trip in Fruita and Moab. Exploring the desert with a supportive friend, moving my body in a way that was both challenging and playful, and watching the dogs run through sage and sandstone—it doesn’t get better than that for me.
When I returned to Lander, I stepped right into some tough decisions and invitations to stretch into work that feels uncomfortable and new. As a longtime NOLS instructor, I have spent years living and teaching uncertainty. Yet the invitation to keep stepping into the unknown keeps showing up in different ways.
This time, it looks like entrepreneurship.
An identity I am still getting used to, like trying on a fancy outfit that does not quite fit yet. I am still finding my style. I am learning to own my calling as a professional coach and exploration partner. I am in awe of where I have landed, and curious about where I am being called next.
What It Feels Like: Walking Into the Fog
It feels like walking into fog.
Behind me, I see sunshine over familiar hills: warmth, community, security, and identity. And yet, I feel pulled into the grey. There is something there for me, though I wish I knew exactly what.
How do you stay committed to walking a path when you do not know where it leads?
I could pretend. I could say, It is leading to a successful coaching business! But that does not feel true yet. What does feel true is this: I want to live with an open-armed embrace of “I am not sure, but I think I am supposed to walk this way.” One foot in front of the other. One word at a time. One coaching conversation at a time.
Trusting More Than Logic
I have trusted many things in my life: logic, planning, work ethic, mentors, and my ability to give my best to someone else’s mission. But now I wonder, what do I trust when the path ahead is not clear?
I asked my meditation teacher, Susa. She reminded me: my only job is to fully experience what it feels like to walk into the fog.
It is uncertain and uncomfortable. But it is also exciting, hopeful, aligned, and stretchy in the way I love.
The deeper question is this: Can I be okay not knowing? Can I be with the fog just as it is, without demanding it become sunnier, clearer, or easier?
Shifting Expectations
Instead of expecting myself to figure it all out and finally land on the perfect path, what if my only expectation is to be surprised by how it turns out?
Because right now, life includes fog. It includes fear and courage, aversion and desire. The only real mistake would be wishing things were different.
There is a saying: “If you do not know where you are going, any path will take you there.” For years, I let that line shame me into faking certainty. But I am starting to see it differently. Movement and clarity can come together. The path does not have to be linear. Maybe the fog is part of the path worth walking.
What if instead of trusting the perfect plan, I trust this moment? I trust a small, bold step. I trust my intuition as a close friend and traveling partner.
A Quote I Am Holding
Lately, I have been reflecting on a line from Shunryu Suzuki Roshi (through Pema Chödrön):
“Life is like stepping into a boat that is about to sail out to sea and sink.”
Strangely enough, that feels comforting.
So here I go, stepping into 2025, hitting publish into the fog.
Reflection Prompts for You
If you would like to join me in reflecting, here are some questions:
What parts of your life feel like walking into the fog?
What helps you take steps toward an uncertain future?
Have the important paths you have walked been linear, or did clarity come later?
Where could you spend less time wishing the fog would lift, and more time trusting the step you are on?
With care,
Lindsay
