/ʌnˈsəːt(ə)nti/

a state of doubt about the future or about what is the right thing to do.

Collins dictionary

Uncertainty has dramatically taken a leading role in current discourse. We are unsure about the future, and it is causing us distress. Uncertainty you would think, is a new thing. It follows then that before uncertainty there was surety, confidence, and knowing, right? But of course this is not an about turn – for any surety we had was surely an illusion. We like that illusion very much. So much so that we will build our lives, hopes and dreams on it. Resting it all on one thin veil. We see glimpses of what lies behind, but only once in awhile is that cloth ripped away and the truth revealed. And how it disturbs our hearts!

What if though, this is our truest moment – our chance to step into truth and embrace it. Uncertainty brings a stripping, bare naked reckoning – a clarity and priority elevation like nothing else. Deeper questions rise – what really is important? Can I live without that? Who matters most? In certainty we believe more matters, more is needed, more is better. Uncertainty brings the uncomfortable yet freeing less. Less brings a revelation of the freedom we lost with more.

 I’ve often felt I’ve failed as I’ve imperfectly navigated through such terrain, but no, a stumbling lurching kind of progress is just the progress we need. Perhaps for some with more practice the walk is steadier, but for the rest of us, a drunken sailor gait will do. Are we moving forward? Are we growing stronger? Are we returning to truth more often than before? Then just keep swimming, and be kind, to you and the other stumblers.

So, this is my song for the season – rejoice; fill up on joy again. Because this may hurt, but it is real true life, it is growth like springtime, it is shaking off of chains, and it is one step closer to heaven.