Embracing Uncertainty

Staying calm in the face of uncertainty is important in times of more uncertainty than ever. Uncertainty has been with us all the time we've been on this planet and it's time to remind ourselves that uncertainty is a friend of ours.

Transcript

Embracing uncertainty. Uncertainty is an old companion of ours. It has been there since the beginning of time. In the beginning there was awe and wonder about the world around us. We looked up to the stars and the wonders of life with innocent eyes, And all we saw was opportunity and survival. Who would have bet on Homo sapiens back then. We weren't tall nor strong. We weren't fast. We had no fierce fangs or claws. But we stood together. Everything was possible back then. We nearly went extinct. Uncertainty everywhere. Around each corner, Death was waiting for us. The wild predators hunting us. An accident. Inflammation of the appendix. Infections, Arrows, Poisonous mushrooms, And snakes and lightning and diseases. The unknown was always risky and opportunity at the same time. The lightning that gave us fire. The unknown plans we ate which nurtured us. The animals we domesticated. And against all odds one day we ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. We became afraid of uncertainty. We started telling ourselves stories about the world around us. We learned that stories are better than chaos. And we tried pushing uncertainty away. Stories became our new certainty. We call them religion, Law, Economics, Or science. We build our societies around those stories to gain even more certainty for our lives. Certainty in a world that has always been and always will be uncertain. Werner Heisenberg described the inherent uncertainty relationship of the universe like this. If you want to know exactly where a single electron is located, You need very short-waved light which comes with very high energy. This high energy kicks the electrons so hard that you no longer know its momentum. If you want to preserve its momentum. You must use low energy light, But then you get a very blurry picture and don't know the precise position anymore. You can't have the momentum and the position at the same time. That's uncertainty by design. One must have chaos in oneself to give birth to a dancing star, As Nietzsche once put it. Our universe is full of chaos and uncertainty. And that's what makes it worth living. Certainty is stifling opportunities. Certainty is the end of curiosity. Certainty is standing still. The only certain thing in our lives is our eventual death. Who wants to know the precise time and occasion of one's own death right now? Who wants to see the end of all uncertainty the future holds for us? Is that what we strive for? We love stories. We love surprises. We love wonders and awe. We want growth and development. So let's spend a moment to reflect and connecting to our breath. Find this position that is relaxed yet alert at the same time and connect to your breath, Taking a deep breath in. Followed by a long breath out. Allowing your mind to settle. Allowing to feel the full sensation of breathing in. And breathing out. Becoming aware of the small pauses between inhalation and exhalation. Allowing the mind to settle. Connect to your heart space. In the middle of your chest. Where you can feel your breathing. And the beating of your heart. Listen to the voice in your heart. The voice that you hear since you are young. The voice of wonder and surprise and awe. Uncertainty is risky. Uncertainty is life. Uncertainties all around us. Uncertainty is our friend. It has carried us through the eons of time against all odds, And we are still here. We have prevailed. So there is hope in the darkest hour that we will find the spirit once more to overcome all odds and defeat the destruction that might be ahead of us. Besides destruction and entropy, There is also a force of growth. And creativity in this universe that thrives to bring order into chaos. A seed that turns into a tree. A bird hatching from its egg. Babies being born. Ideas being created. Things put together. Uncertainty makes us grow. Uncertainty teaches us. Uncertainty allows for hope that certainty would end. Uncertainty is the soil for the seeds of our imagination to pave the path into a better future. Do not fear the endless possibilities the future holds for us. Because the future is ours to create. Be brave. Be human. Live and thrive.