Letting Life Be The Question

Some things can’t be solved.
They can only be lived through.

In Chapter 20 of Living an Examined Life, James Hollis challenges the ego’s constant craving for certainty.
He suggests that maybe our task isn’t to figure everything out — but to sit with the mystery long enough for deeper meaning to emerge.

“The goal is not to answer the question but to become the person for whom the question is no longer a question.”
— James Hollis

This hit me hard.

Because I want answers.
I want to know which course to take.
Whether I’ll feel secure.
When this aching loneliness will lift.
What my future holds.

But Hollis gently says: You don’t need to know that yet.

Maybe the more important question is: Can I stay present in the not-knowing — and trust that I’m becoming someone new in the process?

Because rushing toward answers usually means grasping for safety.
And safety isn’t always truth.
Sometimes it’s just the old cage, repainted.

But if I can slow down…
if I can hold the tension between where I’ve been and where I’m going…
then maybe I’m already living the answer — just not in language yet.

So tonight, I’m not asking life to explain itself.
I’m asking myself to keep showing up — awake, honest, and open to the mystery.

I don’t need to solve it.
I just need to live it.