There Are Two Things People Need in Life: Certainty and Uncertainty
Life is a complex and diverse phenomenon, let alone the existence of the world itself.
Imagine the number of days and water it took for the oceans to form.
Or the amount of force required to shape the earth’s mountains.
All the wars that were fought for the luxuries and freedom that we enjoy today in the West.
Famines.
Plagues.
The web of interrelated decisions that led you to read this very post.
It’s really quite a remarkable concept to ponder.
Most things are out of our realm of control, yet we incessantly attempt to fix, remedy, or change them.
While we can control our own actions in response to situations, a series of outcomes unfold every day that there’s no tangible way of foreshadowing.
We don’t deal the cards we were given, but we can use the hand to our advantage.
The thing is, people need to be able to see life through a structure because it provides a sense of control and hope.
The contrary is that we’re left feeling powerless and insignificant. You’re telling me we’re a spec of dust on a planet rotating at 1,000 miles per hour? That’s one way to become nihilistic and bitter. However, it may do a deed in humbling the utmost arrogance of mankind.
While we yearn for any grain of certainty we can grip, we also need uncertainty.
For example, I’d like to be certain that I’m going to have a meal on my plate every evening, a roof over my head, and a loving family to return home to.
However, I don’t want to be certain of every outcome in my life because it’ll lead to immense suffering and jadedness.
Landing your dream job is rewarding because you were never for certain that you’d get it. The same can be said about making the cut for a highly competitive basketball team. If you knew that you’d be accepted all along, what do you have to strive for?
Mystery is what makes life exhilarating. What point would there be to life if we had everything figured out? Isn’t that what it’s all about — learning and evolving?
Every day we have a choice to resist the great mysteries or flow into the unknown with an open mind and heart.
I choose the latter.
What do you choose?
