“A planet ruled by predictability where all contingency is eliminated is also a planet dominated by unchecked evil.”
Alfred Kracher
They say the only certain things in life are death and taxes.
But that’s not true.
You don’t have to pay your taxes (though I wouldn’t recommend it). Avoiding death, on the other hand, is not something you can go to jail to avoid.
Death stands alone as the one reality we can know for certain.
Everything that comes before is contingent, everything that comes after is belief.
Yet, oddly, for a species that craves certainty, we walk around pretending death is optional at best and non-existent at worst.
Instead, we try to create certainty where there is none.
These two truths alone account for the majority of unnecessary human suffering and misery.
A fundamental misunderstanding
A fundamental misunderstanding we have about certainty and uncertainty is that we believe certainty represents safety while uncertainty represents danger.
But the opposite is true.
Certainty is death. Uncertainty is life.
How can this be?
Recall that death is the only certainty we have. When we strive for certainty, what we’re actually doing is contemplating death. Of course, there’s nothing inherently wrong with this, it’s just that we’re often not aware of what we’re doing.
On the other hand, everything before (life) and after (the afterlife) death is uncertain.
Consider that the safety, security, meaning, purpose, and love you desire all require their opposite to exist (I could make the case that love is the only exception to this but that would require another post). How would we know what it means to be safe if the concept of danger didn’t exist? How can we know what pleasure is if we’ve never experienced pain?
It’s the trade-off we make to experience this thing we call life. Living in the land of certainty is like living in a 2D world with a straight line leading to death. But we all live in a 3D world thanks to uncertainty. In this world, death is the collapsing of all possibilities to a single moment.
Though we tend to privilege order over chaos, we know from experience that chaos can break in at any moment.
We tend to think of these events as detours or aberrations, but they are part of the path of life itself.
The place of possibility
These truths are not dependent on our reception of them. They are true whether we accept them or not.
However, when we don’t accept them, uncertainty, contingency, and chaos can appear to break through our carefully constructed and ordered lives.
But actually, it is out of this chaos that new life can break through. It’s the moment when we’re often our most creative and resourceful. It’s where we can experience the deepest meaning and joy.
It’s the place where possibility is most potent…
Thank you, Cylon.
I kid myself that I cope well with uncertainty – but, if I’m honest, it’s only theoretical.
As I age, I’m grateful for and appreciate certainty. So, you’ve made me stop in my tracks. You are, of course, right – certainty is death
I shall ponder that – and might even take action!
Thank you again.
You’re welcome Zara!
Yes, I’m reading this late… there is certainty in that! I think I’ve pondered this reality in the past, that if I hadn’t experienced pain, how would I know I’m experiencing pleasure? Or something along those lines. Thank you. This reminds me to appreciated the moment – in certain and uncertain times. In certain times, I can relish the certainty because I have experienced the uncertainty. And, in uncertain times, I have hope because … “this too shall pass.” Knowing nothing remains stagnant – I think that’s what helps develop hope. When people can’t see past the stagnant – maybe that’s what draws them to the certainty of death. WOW – this got dark fast!