Life Experiences Are Feedback: Part One The Unknown Is Not the Enemy
This morning, I walked to the beach before sunrise. Being in St Lucia for ten days, I intend to take advantage to being within walking distance of the beach.
The sea was calm, the sunrise was stunning. I met a lobster fisherman we talked a while about his morning catch There was nothing dramatic about the moment. No grand revelation. Just a simple reminder that life often teaches us through ordinary encounters if we are paying attention.
I am currently here with the intention of facilitating two days of meetings with government and private sector officials, then to meet and discuss the project with stakeholders. The goal is important: to help shape strategies that can improve access to financing for women and young people involved in green initiatives and forest products.
On paper, it sounds exciting.
In reality, it is also stretching me.
I have never facilitated a meeting quite like this before. My
My schedule feels different. For perhaps the first time in a long while, I have arrived somewhere without a tightly controlled itinerary telling me exactly what happens next.
And if I am honest, that uncertainty has been talking to me.
You know that voice.
The one that wants guarantees.
The one that asks, "What if you're not prepared enough?"
The one that wants a detailed plan for the day.
The one that mistakes certainty for safety.
But as I sat watching the sun rise this morning, I realized something.
Life has been giving me feedback.
Not criticism.
Feedback.
There is a difference.
The feedback is showing me how quickly I want to rush to certainty. It is showing me how uncomfortable I can become when I don't know exactly how things will unfold. It is revealing where I still try to manage outcomes instead of trusting my preparation.
And so I have made a promise to myself during this trip.
Don't fuss.
Don't create problems that have not arrived.
Don't be frightened by the uncertainty.
Go with the flow.
Prepare and let go.
That last phrase has become my companion.
Prepare and let go.
Prepare thoroughly for the meetings.
Prepare mentally.
Prepare emotionally.
Then let go of the need to control how every conversation lands, how every participant responds, and how every hour unfolds.
The fisherman I met this morning cannot control the sea. He can prepare his equipment, learn his craft, study the conditions, and show up. Beyond that, there is a partnership with something larger than himself.
Perhaps life asks the same of us.
Show up.
Do the work.
Bring your best.
Then trust the process.
Today's feedback is simple:
Not knowing is not evidence that something is wrong.
Sometimes it is evidence that something new is beginning.
And maybe growth is not learning how to control the unknown.
Maybe growth is learning how to befriend it.
For today, that feels like enough.
The sun rose anyway.
The fisherman launched anyway.
And I will walk into these meetings and do the same.
Life Experience Feedback #1: The unknown is not always a warning sign. Sometimes it is an invitation to trust who you are becoming.
Peace and Blessings
Akosua