I completely agree with you about the rewards of uncertainty, and the pleasure of living in the mystery. I also agree that people who are too certain of themselves and their opinions are almost always wrong.
At the same time, I would gently point out that there's a necessary consequence to living in uncertainty—perhaps it's even a paradox—and that is that if one is truly going to walk one's talk about uncertainty, one is required to become ever less judgmental of others, and of their opinions. One might have to give up judgment in favor of perception. That can mean giving up the need to be right, which is something the ego finds difficult to let go of.
What uncertainty offers is, perhaps, therefore, the virtue of perception over judgment, of taking the attitude to wait and see, rather than to rush to condemnation on any point. One must leave the game open-ended, and play it for its own sake, rather than as a path towards a fixed goal with a desired outcome. (cf. James P. Carse, "Finite and Infinite Games") And one must learn to give up that urge to make snap judgments, especially on topics one is invested deeply in, and to sit with not-knowing. (cf. Pema Chodron, "Comfortable With Uncertainty")
I completely agree with you about the rewards of uncertainty, and the pleasure of living in the mystery. I also agree that people who are too certain of themselves and their opinions are almost always wrong.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, I would gently point out that there's a necessary consequence to living in uncertainty—perhaps it's even a paradox—and that is that if one is truly going to walk one's talk about uncertainty, one is required to become ever less judgmental of others, and of their opinions. One might have to give up judgment in favor of perception. That can mean giving up the need to be right, which is something the ego finds difficult to let go of.
What uncertainty offers is, perhaps, therefore, the virtue of perception over judgment, of taking the attitude to wait and see, rather than to rush to condemnation on any point. One must leave the game open-ended, and play it for its own sake, rather than as a path towards a fixed goal with a desired outcome. (cf. James P. Carse, "Finite and Infinite Games") And one must learn to give up that urge to make snap judgments, especially on topics one is invested deeply in, and to sit with not-knowing. (cf. Pema Chodron, "Comfortable With Uncertainty")
As I get older, I realize I am becoming more and more uncertain, but because of that, more and more sure of how much closer I am getting to real life.
ReplyDelete