The Positive Side of ‘Negative Capability’
Why life is about living the mystery
John Keats, a Romantic poet, first wrote about the concept of ‘negative capability’ in 1817. It’s the ability, he said, to “exist amid uncertainties, mysteries, and doubts without reaching for absolutes”. To play in the grey and embrace not knowing.
Over 200 years later, and I can’t think of a more apt way to describe the way I want my brain to work. The problem is this; I love the idea of ambiguity, but I hate the feel of it. It feels a lot like spinning out of control and I think in general, we all find uncertainty a bit jarring.
But why is that? Is it because where there’s a gap, both the dream and the nightmare are still possible?
To put it simply, the lizard brain likes knowing. Science shows that it’s actually far more stressful if the outcome of something is uncertain than if we already know it will end badly. We can prepare for a negative outcome, but when the little thumb-sized uncertainty tracker in your brain, the locus coeruleus, pings, the fight or flight system goes wild, and as a result, we feel crap.
The irony is not lost on me that I spend more time than the average human trying to figure sh*t out and yet here I am writing about embracing the mystery. But despite (or maybe because of) my type…
