Become comfortable with uncertainty

Black or white, right or wrong, yes or no, in or out, happy or sad. Nowadays it feels as if we constantly need to choose between one or the other. I don’t have a problem with making a decision or choosing what you like or dislike. However, lately I’ve become curious about the type of answers we expect. It sometimes feels so rigid. It feels as if there is no place for flexibility, uncertainty or a range of possibilities. We don’t allow ourselves the time to sit back, to feel our emotions without acting them out, or to observe our thoughts without trying to change them.

Greyish, not yet, maybe, in the middle, confused. How do you feel when you read these words? These words tend to make us uncomfortable. We don’t know where we stand or what action to take next. We can’t take control of the situation. We are uncertain how to deal with these answers or emotions, as it does not fit in a category that we are familiar or comfortable with.

I realised that is something I struggle with. I struggle to be comfortable with the uncomfortable. To feel my emotions without labeling them as either good or bad. To not have all the answers. To move at a different pace. To be able to be flexible without being a pushover.

The image that comes to mind is that of a field of moist green wheat. The wheat stalk stands erect but if you stroke your hand through it, it bends softly. When your hand leaves, it returns to its original position. There is something in that flexibility that draws me. The ability to adapt to the situation without breaking. They can allow themselves to get blown in different directions by the wind but once the wind calms down they are erect, just as strong as before. However, if the wheat stalk is very dry it easily breaks when you try to bend it.

I realised that this is how I am as well. If I keep on nurturing (moisturising) my soul either by taking time for myself to meditate, pray, exercise, read, etc. It is easier for me to bend and not break when the winds of life blow through me. But if I don’t take time to nurture my soul, I become rigid and get stuck in fixed preconceived ideas.

I want to ask you to join me to be curious about the range of emotions we can feel and the variety of answers there are to a question. Learn being more comfortable with uncertainty. Eckhart Tolle said ‘when you become comfortable with uncertainty, infinite possibilities open up in your life.”