Musing

Monday Nov. 13, 2006 – freedom to be uncertain

-1C/31F, breezy, overcast & snow is softer, traffic hum is light, lots of people taking a holiday in lieu of Remembrance Day today; Gusta in fine form, appetite & running speed after quite a few days of sluggish PMS (or whatever its called in dog language); it feels more like a spring day than an early winter one . . .

lunch & laughs with my dad yesterday; my day is light on meetings, heaving on work – like any regular Sunday or holiday Monday; if you are taking a holiday today, have a good one; if you are not, please call me tomorrow!

‘The quest for certainty blocks the search for meaning. Uncertainty is the very condition to impel man to unfold his powers.’ – Erich Fromm

babies enjoy uncertainty, toddlers know nothing else, adolescence thrives on it – but as we get older, the need for certainty in relationships, cash flow, travel plans, lifestyle, career paths or something as simple as ‘how you spend your Sunday evening’ can be big issues for some people

my theory is that the volume of uncertainty in our lives is just too much sometime; made easier by clinging to the familiar without regard to its value

life is uncertain, it comes without guarantees in any form

maybe we expect too much, disappoint too easily, go with the flow too much

the certainty that any of us will be around tomorrow is an actuarial table probability, not a fact

if the fact is that nothing is certain, why not let loose . . or at least let yourself get a little looser every day; every day a small step – this will eventually lead somewhere . . . when you get there, send me a postcard

get away, if only in your mind for a moment; get away, if only for today; get away from that which holds you, get away toward what you want

getting away sets you free

then, you realize, you were always free all the time, having always had the freedom to be uncertain

the next unusual opportunity that comes along has the power to change your entire life, or maybe just your afternoon

the risk you take is not one or the other, but that you choose neither

odds are in your favour that you will not perish for having tried

will you be truly living if you do not?

Mark

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