Terra Incognito (Discovery Draft)

“The most promising words ever written
on the maps of human knowledge are
terra incognito–unknown territory”
Daniel J. Boorstin, The Discoverers (1983).

What if, instead of “promising,” Borstin used the words “frightful,” “ominous,” or “foreboding”? Maybe it’s just me, but isn’t that how many of us approach – or have approached – the unknown? With at least a modicum of fear and trepidation? Especially when it comes to writing?
No matter how much I write, and no matter how many times I successfully complete a writing assignment, I still am forced to face the same paralyzing fear: the unknown…: What am I going to write about?...Do I have anything meaningful or relevant to say?...If so, will I even be able to articulate it?... Is there anybody out there?... Does anybody even care?...
Of course, this fear often masquerades as writer’s block, which, more often than not, is really just a convenient excuse for procrastination. And there ain’t no promise in procrastination.
So why did Boorstin choose to use “promising”? Couldn’t he have chosen a more promising word?
Obviously, my literacy autobiography is not about diction, but discovery– discovery of what the unknown promises.
Well then, what does the unknown promise? Perhaps it promises the absence of fear, for, as FDR so famously quipped, “The only thing to fear is fear itself.” And every time I face my fear, I find fortune in the discovery of a treasure-trove of words just waiting to be wielded if only I have enough courage and conviction to continue my quest to seek the untold riches that lie hidden beyond the horizon of my limited vision, where imagination is not fettered by fear, and where each word promises salvation.