Embracing Uncertainty
Certainty is something the mind wants.
The ego wants to feel safe. It is trying to protect you. And in order to protect you, it likes things in life to be known and unchanging. Or at least if things are changing, it likes the change to be predictable - not sudden or surprising.
The problem is that we are time in history when many many things are changing unpredictably. And with that the mind can go wild and then we feel fear.
You may find that you’ve got three strategies that you’re employing right now:
To ignore what’s going on. Just DLAN - Do Life As Normal.
To work hard to minimise your feeling of out-of-controlness
To watch and read lots of news, and then overthink and worry.
None of these approaches is very helpful.
You need to realise that you are not in control and can never be in control. And also to realise that actually everything is uncertain.
The mind's pursuit of certainty is a misguided one. Now of course it's good to 'control what we can control'. It makes sense to use your agency to create the life that you want & have the impact you want.
And yet at the same time, you also need to accept life as it is unfolding and surrender into the unknown. When I go to my yoga class, they sometimes say surrender. That doesn't mean do nothing, or give up my power. It means surrender to the class - don't fight it, don't let the mind wander, don't struggle with life. It means be in flow with the unique incredible unfolding of each moment.
When you can embrace this understanding, when you surrender, you can access a different way of being in the world. You can still make things happen in your life, but you do so from a place of flow, not from a place of needing or trying to control life or trying to make it certain.
Everything in the outside world is changing, largely beyond your understanding. All your thoughts about the outside world are also constantly changing. If you become immersed in our thinking about it all, you’re in for a rollercoaster ride.
The only thing that is certain is consciousness, that you are aware (going deep for a moment!). Your very being, your very existence is the only thing that is certain. And when you come back to being (not doing, not thinking and overthinking) you access calmness & wholeness. This is the very thing that the ego is trying to get. And it's the very thing that will enable you to deal powerfully with the uncertainty.
So I invite you to focus your energy inside… your inner game.
So what is there to do?
Watch less news. Read less things that are going to have you be caught up in the outer world.
Remember what you know about Quality of Mind… in particular to observe & let go of the stories that the mind creates.
Remember that you are whole well and fine, when you’re not caught in a narrative.
Fill your spare time with practices that support a calm way of being - yoga, meditation, exercise, time in nature…
Keep life simple.
