Have you ever had the experience of being 100% certain about something only to discover later that you were wrong?
I have!
And while I was holding tightly to what I “knew was right” I was blocked: closed to any ideas to the contrary, closed also to information from my body, emotions, intuition and the world around me.
Certainty, it seems, creates blockage, prevents learning, expansion, change in perspective and growth.
It also creates fear. Why? When I am SO certain that “it” is true, when I am holding so tightly to my world view that nothing else could possibly be valid, right or good, I live in fear of losing “it”.
Certainty breeds fear.
I have heard that there really are only two emotions, Love and Fear, and that love cannot co-exist with fear. Expressed another way, all emotions reside on a spectrum between fear and love:
FEAR … hate … anger … discomfort … contentment … passion … LOVE
Shawn Galloway expresses some choices we have between love and fear in his powerful song, I Choose Love:
If certainty breeds fear, what about uncertainty?
It would seem that uncertainty is a state of not knowing which, if accepted and explored, leans toward expansion and growth.
What helps uncertainty move healthfully toward expansion?
We get curious. And curiosity is an open state – open to new ideas and fresh perspectives. A few days ago, I penned this short poem:
Uncertainty
Uncertainty breeds curiosity.
Curiosity fosters connection.
Connection builds community.
Community nurtures love.
Love heals.
Uncertainty leads through connection to love, which heals. What would unfold in our families if we came together with less certainty and more genuine curiosity this holiday season? What would unfold if we all released some of our certainty about the political and social unrest in our country and allowed for a bit of curiosity, connection, community and love? Will you join me in practicing uncertainty today?
Where are you 100% certain?
How might you shift to 90% certainty?
75%?
50%?