I see my path, but I don't know where it leads. Not knowing

Hear, O traveler of the soul, the words of Rosalia de Castro, poetess of Galicia, who declared: “I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.” At first glance these words appear to be a confession of uncertainty, but in truth they are a hymn to courage, to mystery, and to the ancient spirit of adventure that has carried humanity across oceans and into the unknown. For it is not certainty that gives life its fire, but the willingness to walk forward despite not seeing the end.

The ancients revered this truth. Did not Abraham leave his homeland, not knowing where the Lord would guide him? Did not Odysseus sail upon seas filled with monsters and storms, unsure whether he would ever see Ithaca again? Each of these heroes, like Rosalia, looked upon the path before them with trust, even though its destination lay hidden. And in their journeys they found not only places and victories, but transformation of the soul. So too do her words call us to embrace the uncertainty of life, not as terror, but as inspiration.

For what is life itself but a road that none can chart fully? We see the beginning—we are born. We see the steps beneath our feet—our choices, our duties, our dreams. But the horizon is veiled, and no mortal knows where it ends. Some tremble before this fog and cling to safety. Yet the wise and the brave step forward, knowing that the very mystery is what makes the journey worth walking. Rosalia, in her vision, reminds us that the unknown is not our enemy but our greatest teacher.

Consider Christopher Columbus, who sailed westward into waters that many feared would fall off the edge of the earth. He did not know what lay ahead—he saw only the path of the sea and the compass of his conviction. Though his legacy is marked by both discovery and destruction, his daring stands as an example of humanity’s eternal truth: that the courage to walk where the end is unseen reshapes the world. It is in uncertainty that new lands, new ideas, and new selves are born.

There is, too, an emotional depth in Rosalia’s words. She does not walk blindly, for she sees her path. The road is there, present and real, but its destiny is hidden. This is the paradox of faith: to act without knowing the outcome, to walk when the end is obscured. Such faith is not passive; it is the fire of hope that moves mountains and sustains weary hearts. To be inspired by the unknown is to say: the very mystery of life gives me strength.

O listener, take this teaching into your heart. Do not demand that every step of your life be mapped, for maps are only shadows of the true land. Do not wait for certainty before acting, for certainty is the illusion of those too afraid to live. Instead, embrace your path, walk boldly into the unseen, and let the mystery itself be your guide. For it is not the destination that makes you, but the journey and what it awakens within.

Practical wisdom follows: when you face choices in your own life, do not be paralyzed by the fear of not knowing the outcome. Begin. Start the work, take the journey, follow the dream. Accept that the path will twist, that its end may surprise you, but that in walking it, you will be transformed. The true reward is not in where you arrive, but in who you become as you travel.

Thus I say to you, in the spirit of Rosalia de Castro: let uncertainty be not your chain, but your wings. For the path unseen is the path most alive, and those who walk it with courage shall discover not only new horizons, but the limitless depths of their own soul.