The Benefits of Going into The Unknown

The unknown as defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary is “not known or experienced before.” The concept of the unknown can be frightening to some, but exhilarating to others who see the exploration of the unknown as a challenge. Author and aviator Anne Morrow Lindbergh in her book Gift From the Sea writes that “We tend not to choose the unknown which might be a shock or a disappointment or simply a little difficult to cope with. And yet it is the unknown with all its disappointments and surprises that is the most enriching.” Lindbergh is correct when she says that exploration of the unknown has been enriching. This enrichment has culminated in the successful exploration of space, in achievements in medicine, and feats in aviation.

The biggest unknown is space. The universe is so much more than what can be seen through a telescope. Space has been the subject of countless books and movies and has glued millions to their television sets for decades. The television show Star Trek summed it up best with their opening narration of “Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilization, to boldly go where no one has gone before.” The exploration of space is not limited only to Hollywood. On Christmas Eve in 1968, American astronauts made history as the first people ever to leave Earth’s orbit and were the first to travel around the moon. A year later, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. Millions watched as he took that first step and declared “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Mankind has also benefited by exploration of the unknown through breakthroughs in medicine. Scientists share the trait of being motivated to answer the question of why. One of the biggest motivators in science is to discover the origins of human suffering due to illness. In the 1860s, French chemist Louis Pasteur set out to discover what caused disease. Through experiments and research, he discovered that disease resulted from microorganisms not visible to the naked eye. He also concluded that the bacteria could be killed by heat and disinfectant. Pasteur’s research led doctors to wash their hands and to sterilize their instruments before undertaking any examination or operation. Pasteur’s quest to find out the why behind the unknowns of illness has saved countless lives.

Anne Morrow Lindbergh herself is the very definition of conquering the unknown and finding enrichment in that exploration. In addition to being an author, Lindbergh was also an accomplished aviator and explorer. With her husband and fellow aviator Charles Lindbergh, Anne made history with her explorations. Her flights in a single-engine airplane over uncharted routes from Canada and Alaska to China and Japan earned her the National Geographic Society Hubbard Gold Medal for her accomplishments in exploratory flying over five continents.

All in all, going into the unknown is eminently valuable. When Neil Armstrong went into space, he had no idea what he consigned himself to, but he made history and made a profound contribution to science. Going into the unknown may not always seem like the best suggestion, however, the benefit that one receives from it is inevitable. One can never truly experience life and its wonders without going into the unknown.