"The quest for certainty blocks the search for meaning. Uncertainty is the very condition to impel man to unfold his powers."
Erich Fromm
"Art is beauty plus pity."
"Art is beauty plus pity."
Vladimir Nabokov
I have known for some time that wisdom grows when I entertain doubt, uncertainty and confusion. When I am filled with knowledge and certainty, there is simply no space left to gain new insights and see the dots in the universe around me connecting. Being uncertain opens me up to question, to search for meaning, as Erich Fromm said.
In a cyclical process, I find that I can move forward after I question, search, listen, and see dots connecting. And then it is time to start all over again. Yesterday’s wisdom is rarely adequate to start the new day. It’s an attitude of continuous questioning that helps me. Cultivating a beginner’s mind, said Shunryu Suzuki, the wise Zen teacher in San Francisco.
In another way, however, I find that uncertainty works the opposite for me. It blocks me from what I want to do. I end up feeling powerless when I cannot decide, and uncertainty makes it easier for me to procrastinate. When I end up with inaction, I feel trapped doing little where I should have done a lot.
In the past days, I have struggled to act on my intention to get up an hour earlier, just before the crack of dawn. It is proving to be a great challenge. There is something that has blocked me so far, and with each sounding of the alarm, I end up snoozing it again in my uncertainty about getting up. This puzzles me, and I have yet to see my powers unfolding to deal with this straightforward challenge. I have already reflected that I need to be fired up with passion to adopt the new habit.
For me, passion means that I don’t want to miss out on something I treasure. In the past I felt passionate about playing golf and I did not mind getting up early for that. Nowadays I count myself lucky to be passionate for my work, and I have no trouble getting up early to get to the airport in time for an early flight. And of course passion for my significant other could also make me do new and unusual things.
It dawns on me that my solution lies in being aware and making choices. My grand intentions will get realized step by step. Like art holds beauty and pity, each of my moments holds a promise of both action and inaction, which live side by side. I can find inspiration in the words of other life travelers, and emulate their steps, as I need all the inspiration I can find.
The big picture around me is always changing, like clouds in the sky. Every day needs a new start, as I untangle the challenges of uncertainty and my snoozing alarm.
Photograph: Untangling a web, at Métissages, A Crossbreeding of Contemporary Art and Textiles, exhibition in the National Museum, Jakarta.
I have known for some time that wisdom grows when I entertain doubt, uncertainty and confusion. When I am filled with knowledge and certainty, there is simply no space left to gain new insights and see the dots in the universe around me connecting. Being uncertain opens me up to question, to search for meaning, as Erich Fromm said.
In a cyclical process, I find that I can move forward after I question, search, listen, and see dots connecting. And then it is time to start all over again. Yesterday’s wisdom is rarely adequate to start the new day. It’s an attitude of continuous questioning that helps me. Cultivating a beginner’s mind, said Shunryu Suzuki, the wise Zen teacher in San Francisco.
In another way, however, I find that uncertainty works the opposite for me. It blocks me from what I want to do. I end up feeling powerless when I cannot decide, and uncertainty makes it easier for me to procrastinate. When I end up with inaction, I feel trapped doing little where I should have done a lot.
In the past days, I have struggled to act on my intention to get up an hour earlier, just before the crack of dawn. It is proving to be a great challenge. There is something that has blocked me so far, and with each sounding of the alarm, I end up snoozing it again in my uncertainty about getting up. This puzzles me, and I have yet to see my powers unfolding to deal with this straightforward challenge. I have already reflected that I need to be fired up with passion to adopt the new habit.
For me, passion means that I don’t want to miss out on something I treasure. In the past I felt passionate about playing golf and I did not mind getting up early for that. Nowadays I count myself lucky to be passionate for my work, and I have no trouble getting up early to get to the airport in time for an early flight. And of course passion for my significant other could also make me do new and unusual things.
It dawns on me that my solution lies in being aware and making choices. My grand intentions will get realized step by step. Like art holds beauty and pity, each of my moments holds a promise of both action and inaction, which live side by side. I can find inspiration in the words of other life travelers, and emulate their steps, as I need all the inspiration I can find.
The big picture around me is always changing, like clouds in the sky. Every day needs a new start, as I untangle the challenges of uncertainty and my snoozing alarm.
Photograph: Untangling a web, at Métissages, A Crossbreeding of Contemporary Art and Textiles, exhibition in the National Museum, Jakarta.
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