Have you met Miss Unknown yet?

When is the last time you have driven down a road without knowing where it meets the Highway?

"Our city lives do not allow us such liberties!" - you'd say.

I hear you.

But our mind does.?

But, first - an honest admission.

I, for one, wasn't born with a seeking mind, or much open a mindset.

I knew little about Miss Unknown for a large part of my life.?

I was all for Mr. Assurance.

I grew up in a nurturing that connected academics to achievements, achievements to success, and success to my worth on planet Earth.

I suspect most of my friends thought so, too.

Result?

A whetting appetite for security.

A restless need to know where I'm headed, even before I start going.

In jobs, I worked hard. In careers, I aimed big. In cities, I arrived with train timetables.

And then, life sent me a gift.

In the shape of an ultimatum.

At 34, working as a group leader and an Associate Actuary by qualification, while living a comfortable check-listed life as a wife and mother, I was brought right down on my knees.

The doctors, dozen and a half of them came up with names front their medical specialisation areas covering done, muscles, bones, nerves, and liver concerns. Neuroscience summed it up as "Fibromyalgia". Psychologists summarised it by the name of "burnout". My Orthopaedic sent me to physiotherapy with a laundry list of interventions all along my spine and bones.

And me?

Well, at first I called it the end of life, in my head.

And then, it slowly unraveled.

Into a beginning.

A new exploration.

And, it is only now that I first met Miss Unknown.

My quest with her helped me find myself back, beyond the job title and roles I played at home.

She reminded me of the paintings I made as a child, the storybooks I read while my mother thought I was at homework, the long afternoons of tall promises, the serenity of believing I could become someone the world waited for!

Have you ever felt that way, as a child?

Have you, like me, forgotten how it all faded as we aged?

But more on my story, later.

For now, ask yourself:

Have you met Miss Unknown in your trail of life?

There is a certain beauty in the exploration of Miss Unknown. (Okay, okay! albeit within frameworks of calculated risks.)

But nevertheless, the beauty is unmistakable. The joy. The promise.

Like, to allow ourselves to set up a date with ourselves, alone, to chase a trail without knowing which way it goes and how it ends.

If you let it.

Tell me:

• When is the last time you played a game without wanting to win?
• When is the last time you wrote a letter without knowing if it will be sent, or read?
• When is the last time you looked at yourself in the mirror without having somewhere to go?
• Dabbled with paints?
• Took a train and got down at unknown stations?

What would happen, if you could?

Tell me in the comments.

~~

I’m Sinjini Sengupta?- Founder, Lighthouse - former actuarial professional turned author, speaker and story evangelist.

I believe stories can change everything we think, do or feel, and therefore the world as we know it. Its power is immense. We are only one story-step away from being a better version of ourselves.

At LIGHTHOUSE we help Businesses & C-levels use Storytelling for Leadership, Business, Impact, Culture, Legacy and DEIB.

We work extensively with

- Data Storytelling

- Leadership Growth

- Gender & DEIB programs

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