The Little Monk | How to Face the Unknown
A little monk, the newest and youngest of the monastery's novices, clutched his robe in the darkness, fingers trembling.
"I'm scared of the dark," he whispered.
The old teacher walking with him knelt down, eyes warm with understanding.
"And what exactly do you think the dark is, little one?" "I don't know," the child admitted. "That's why it's scary."
“Ah”, the teacher said. "If we don't know what it is, maybe it isn't something to fear."
The boy's brow furrowed in confusion.
"When we don't know what something is," the teacher said gently, "Our minds make up scary stories to fill the space. It's easier to be afraid than to sit with not knowing."
The teacher reached for their single candle, the flame flickering between them. With a swish of his hand, he extinguished the flame. The room vanished into blackness. "See? The unknown is just... empty space."
The child sat there, breathing rapidly at first, then slower. Eventually, his tiny shoulders relaxed. He realized... nothing had changed. The room was still there. He was still there.
The little monk understood: it's not the darkness we fear, but the monsters we imagine in it.
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The dark isn’t always the night.
Sometimes it’s what someone might think of us.
Or the job we haven’t heard back from.
Or the world we’re scared to raise kids in.
The unknown wears a lot of masks. But it’s all the same room.
And the room?
Hasn’t changed.
If this spoke to you and you want to help it continue, here’s one way:
