Issue 11: Surrendering to Uncertainty
From the moment it became clear that we were experiencing a global pandemic, I sensed that we were entering a new era of uncertainty… not that there hasn’t been plenty of uncertainty in human history, but I do believe that we’re experiencing an unprecedented level of multiple uncertainties on a global scale. In scientific terms, we have WAY too many dependent and highly complex variables to have a clue how it’s all going to turn out. Consequently, even as we are encouraged to emerge from lockdown in the UK and elsewhere, I don’t sense any less uncertainty about the future.
As a recovering ‘control freak’, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by my response to this experience. It’s as if the world entering into such extreme uncertainty has released me from any vestige of perceived control over my environment. The whole situation is clearly SO beyond my control or influence that I have no choice but to surrender to whatever is to come!
Paradoxically, I have never felt more motivated and inspired to engage with the world as it has never seemed to matter more how we each behave. It’s as if we’re all unique variables in this vast experiment and I can only, but must, play my miniscule part. The serenity prayer captures this paradox well – “grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.” The extremity of this pandemic has forced me to relinquish my historical attachment to outcomes and now purely focus on discerning what inputs I can offer… and then become a curious and humble spectator of the effects.