I Don’t Know

Whatever inspiration is, it’s born from a continuous “I don’t know.” — Wisława Szymborska.

Why is it so hard to utter the words, “I don’t know.” I expect that part of it is ego, and part of it is shame. And yet those words “I don’t know” offer such an opportunity. They can trigger curiosity. A constant theme of history’s greatest geniuses is their curiosity — DaVinci, Curie, Einstein, Steve Jobs. They were all willing to admit they didn’t know and devote their life to finding out.

Szymborska is correct that we are inspired from a continuous I don’t know. Great painters, musicians, and authors begin with a blank page.

Faith begins with an admission that we don’t have the answer. Faith is the bridge from the world we know to the world we don’t.The greater the faith begins with the greater understanding that we do not know.

Next time someone ask you a question and you don’t know the answer, say proudly, “I don’t know, but let’s find out the answer together.” If you do you will discover what an adventure life really can be.

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About the author

Webb Hubbell is the former Associate Attorney General of The United States. His novels, When Men Betray, Ginger Snaps, A Game of Inches, The Eighteenth Green, and The East End are published by Beaufort Books and are available online or at your local bookstore. When Men Betray won one of the IndieFab awards for best novel in 2014. Ginger Snaps and The Eighteenth Green won the IPPY Awards Gold Medal for best suspense/thriller. His latest, “Light of Day” will be on the bookstands soon.