PEBBLE
The quality of your life is in direct proportion to the amount of uncertainty you are willing to comfortably deal with.
~Tony Robbins, shared by Becky in Pennsylvania
BOULDER
Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity.
~Gilda Radner, shared by Peg in Madison, WI
PONDER
So, uhm, if you haven’t heard, Election Day 2024 arrives here in the U.S. this week. There is precious little certainty as to the outcome of the election, and even more uncertainty around how the country and the world will react. And what’s to come in the months and years ahead? Depending upon your mood and your outlook right now, that’s a dizzying or possibly overwhelming question to ponder right now.
I was initially hesitent to ripple about uncertainty yet again since we’ve covered the topic so frequently in the last few years (see postscript). But an interesting thing happened as I read over the quotes and ponderations from our archives. I felt a little calmer, and my thoughts were a little less scattered.
And then Oliver Burkeman’s reliably insightful Imperfectionist newsletter dropped into my email inbox, and I was further comforted by his suggested strategy of focusing on Eckhart Tolle’s centering question: “Do I have a problem now?”
Of course it is important to remember that I’m not here to tell you whether or not to freak out about what’s happening, nor do I have any inkling of the “correct” things that we are supposed to be thinking and feeling and doing in the midst of all of this. The thing I think I am supposed to be whispering to my fellow Ripplers is something like this: I’m pretty sure that our best chance of being in the best frame of mind and the optimal space to respond most effectively to whatever happens next is to be as well rested and centered and healthy as we possibly can.
Grappling with uncertainty is a huge part of adulting in this big, scary, hard world, so please extend as much compassion and generosity as you possibly can in the coming days…toward yourself and toward the other humans you encounter. We’re all just trying to figure all of this out, and I think most of us are struggling more than we let on.
I don’t have answers or advice; instead I humbly offer deep breaths (here now!), calm energy, and as always, I offer you…
Peace,
Paul
P.S. It was surprisingly helpful for me to revisit these uncertainty-related posts from our archives, and I invite you to take a peek, too:
Ripples #1310: Tolerating Uncertainty
Ripples #1201: Beyond Certainties
Ripples #1119: Calm Within Chaos
Ripples #995: Befriending Uncertainty
Ripples #903: Opportunities Within Uncertainties
Ripples #857: Unknowing