Brush and Sword

The newsletter by Sameer Sharma

Issue # 3

Befriend the Unknown and Discover the Wisdom in Not Knowing

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Stepping Into The Unknown

This is a continuation of my previous article, Invest In Loss. In that article, I explored the value of letting go. Surrendering allows something greater to arise than what your rational mind can imagine. If you’ve tried to let go and surrender, you might feel scared. It can lead you to a strange and unknown place.

In this space, there are no clear answers, no formulas, and no “how to” methods to follow. The instinct is to look for the light switch, find a foothold, and grab anything that feels safe and familiar. You must fight this urge, born from fear, to discover something new. In this unfamiliar space lie all possibilities. To see them, we have to be okay with not knowing and embrace the beginner’s mind. It is only from this inexhaustible well of the Unknown that we draw true creativity and insight.

Redefining The Unknown

I’m writing the unknown with a capital “U” because, to me, the Unknown is a thing. It is that which is nameless and formless but is the source of all names and forms. As an artist, martial artist, and student of Eastern philosophy, I view the Unknown as “The Way.” In Taoist philosophy, it's called “Tao,” and in Japanese, it’s referred to as “Do.”

The Unknown is not an empty void. The Unknown, the place of uncertainty, is where all possibilities exist. Quantum physics shows that space isn't empty. Instead, it's an energetic field connecting everything and full of potential. It is the “no thing” from which “all things” arise.

The Unknown isn’t a distant place we haven’t found. It’s the part inside us that we avoid. This internal space is unknown because we rarely go there out of fear. Silent moments alone let our fears speak—fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear for survival, and even fear of fear itself. When we feel it, we try to suppress it or distract ourselves to avoid facing it.

But if you can be present with fear, it transforms from a warning to an invitation to step into the Unknown. We need courage to face the Unknown. We also must trust that something will emerge once we do. And something always does.

So, let’s define the Unknown as the space within us of infinite potential rather than a place outside of us. You might be asking, “So, how do I access this potential?” From my experience, you need four qualities: courage, wonder, patience, and trust.

Seeing In The Dark

An Act of Courage

If we can engage with the Unknown with courage, curiosity, patience, and trust, it speaks to us. From my experience, this is the language of the Unknown. If you face it with fear, then you might get lost. It feels like navigating a dark room. You collide with objects as you reach for something familiar to hold. But if you can be still and allow yourself to acclimate to the darkness, your eyes begin to see.

In the Unknown, it’s the heart—our intuitive feeling sense, from which we see instead of the eyes. A courageous heart isn’t fearless, but compassionate. It’s compassionate towards its fear. It understands that one must recognize and accept fear to transform it into courage.

In Japanese martial arts, there is a technique called “irimi” or "to enter." It is a straight line entry towards the attack. The closer you are to your opponent, the safer and more controlled you become. This is counterintuitive because our instinct is to move away from fear. But the farther we distance ourselves from fear, the greater it becomes. It expands to fill the space we’ve created by our distancing. When we move towards it, we collapse that space. Like taking the air out of a balloon, fear implodes when you move towards it.

A Sate of Wonder

For the artist, the Unknown is where the creative muse lives. She only speaks to us when we are willing to step into this space. She is like bioluminescent plankton that makes the ocean glow at night. It's always there, but you can’t see it in daylight. Only in the darkness does it glow. We find answers, insights, and safety when we embrace the Unknown. It's like hitting a reset button. It shuts off the rational mind and turns on what Shunryu Suzuki calls “the beginner’s mind.”

Certainty and security are the death of wonder. In the Unknown, cleverness, rationality, and trying to “figure it out” keep you in the dark. By accepting that you don’t know, a spaciousness emerges that allows the Unknown to commune with you. The answers reveal themselves.

Yet, these answers often appear in a form that you may not recognize because they do not fit into your old paradigm. The answers hide in plain sight when you try to see them with the old eyes of logic and rationality. Instead, we have to trade rationality and cleverness for wonder and curiosity.

The state of wonder and curiosity requires that you suspend judgment, rationality, and the need to measure against what you already think you know. For me, a sense of play with no expectations is very helpful. This sense of play and wonder has a light and spacious feeling; as if the room I’m in has become brighter and twice as large.

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Infinite Patince

The Unknown does not respond to force out of a sense of urgency and desperation. Recall the last time you tried to remember something but couldn’t. You furrowed your brow, clenched your jaw, and focused, but couldn’t think of the answer. Later, while you washed dishes or showered, the answer came to you. You stopped struggling, let go, and relaxed. When you step into the Unknown, you need that same relaxed, detached spaciousness.

When I was a kid, I loved catching fireflies at night in the summertime. As a child, seeing these creatures appear and disappear in the dark was like watching a magic trick. If you’ve watched fireflies, you know that they don’t move fast. Yet, my fast eight-year-old hands always seemed too slow to catch one. Although I was faster than the firefly, its timing of when it glowed in and out of sight was always one step ahead of me.

When I stopped chasing and sat on the grass, a firefly landed on my arm. It greeted me with its glow before vanishing into the night. In the Unknown, timing is never in our control. Like the fireflies, insights arise in their own time. We have to trust that they will, and they always do.

Childlike Trust

Having faith in the unseen is the hardest part of the creative process. The courage with which we entered the Unknown is also needed to trust what comes forth. It never looks like what we expect. That's why it's important to set aside judgment and expectations. This helps us befriend the Unknown. If you think you know, then the Unknown has nothing to offer you.

Again, I’m reminded of my childhood and how children are an ideal of this state. As we grow up, we forget much of our innocence and wonder. To live a more creative life, remembering that innocence and wonder to trust is vital.

Whenever I find the courage to step into the Unknown and trust what comes forth, I’m always surprised by the answer. It’s never what I thought, and better than what I could have thought. It’s humbling because I realize that something far more intelligent than me is in control. Call it what you like—God, Universe, Intelligence.

Gratitude follows my surprise. I'm grateful for the courage I had to step into the Unknown and trust what came forth. Otherwise I’d be sinking in the quicksand of my own rationality. Trust in the Unknown is the lifeline by which I pull myself out.

In time, I’ve come to rely on this irrational trust more than my own rational mind. My trust comes from the sobering truth that I’m not that smart. If I were, I would have analyzed my way to the answer, or not gotten stuck in the first place.

I’ve spent enough time in the Unknown to realize that it’s always wiser and more intelligent than I am. When a child wants to be held, they raise their arms. The parent always responds by reaching out. I’ve always seen this happen. As humans, we are hardwired to do this. In this moment of connection, no thought exists. The connection of two hearts creates the connection of two bodies. The Unknown is like this parental embrace. To be lifted and held by the Unknown, we must approach it with an open heart and no defenses.

Dyeing Cloth

In Buddhism, there is the analogy of the undyed cloth. The mind resembles an undyed cloth that undergoes frequent immersion in the dye of meditation. At first, the dye fades when the cloth is hung to dry and exposed to the elements. Little to none of the dye’s color remains. With continual dyeing, the cloth begins to absorb the dye and eventually takes on its color. In time, the cloth becomes so saturated that the color remains steadfast. Engaging with the Unknown is like this continual dyeing of the cloth. Like the cloth dipped in dye, our sense of self changes when we repeatedly “dip” into the Unknown.

The qualities of courage, wonder, patience, and trust gradually come to the forefront of our persona. With time and practice, we express these qualities in other areas. Something that would initially rouse fear now inspires us to respond with courage, despite the underlying fear. We pass that tree every day without a thought. Now, we look at it more closely and appreciate its simple beauty. Standing in line at the store would normally test our patience. Now, it becomes a welcome moment of rest and presence. We worry that we won’t reach our goals. Now, we begin to trust that things will work out, but not in the way we may expect.

Enter with Questions, Leave With Qualities

We may enter the threshold of the Unknown looking for practical answers. But we leave it with something far greater. Courage, wonder, patience, and trust are the real gifts that the Unknown reveals in us.

As an artist, this is one of the most valuable skills I have gained from my creative work. Every artwork and new skill reflects how deeply I’ve engaged with the Unknown.

Technique and knowledge alone don't create art. I found the missing ingredient only when I paused my frantic search. I became quiet and let the answers arise from the Unknown. They appear in the quiet space, like fireflies. They share a soft glow of insight before fading back into the Unknown.

My real work is to have the courage, curiosity, patience, and trust to let the Unknown express itself through me. This is not free will, but free willingness to embrace the Unknown. That is the secret ingredient of creativity that creates both the artist and the art.

Share your thoughts. I'd love to hear from you!

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Best,

Sameer