Zen Flash got me thinking from this one.
I’ve found most negative affect comes from uncertainty. Anywhere from fear and apprehension to anger or violence, uncertainty causes suffering (and begets more suffering). I’ve also found positive affect can come from uncertainty. Anywhere from excitement and curiosity to romance and generosity, uncertainty can be nice. But when uncertainty is being a meany, fight back not with your mitts, but wit dem wits.
As Zen Flash notes in his post, enlightenment comes with acceptance of uncertainty as part of being, not part of a struggle. Being at peace (not in struggle or turmoil) – regardless of certainty or uncertainty – is freedom.
In this sense, being certain that uncertainty is certainly a natural certainty makes the uncertain certain to make you feel certain your alive. By making uncertainty part of your being rather than a resistance to your being, you can eliminate the negative affects that uncertainty encumbers upon the “unenlightened”. Uncertainty will conjure states of anxiety only if you see uncertainty as alien to your world. If you accept uncertainty as a family member in your world, then it is just another element of life; and one that like all others cannot harm you, truly.
The dynamic elements of life can be labelled good or bad, negative or positive, and the like. However, they can also be labelled neutral, existing, natural, or even empowering. Likewise, upon your label comes your cognizance and interpretation with respect to your label. Instead of seeing your lack of knowing as something debilitating, you can see it as something enabling. To not know means you have work to do, life to live. It does not mean you have things to fear, life to cripple. Be certain of how you perceive uncertainty and it will either disable you or enhance you.
Ultimately, to be uncertain means you are a human, you are nature, you are being as you should be. Life is innately uncertain, so if you are certain, you must not be alive.
The Broad Spectrum Life 
I might have put a comment meant for here in the “eye” category. Not sure… doing this via a tablet remotely connected to my computer. 🙂
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I do it by app and just look through the comments so rarely do I notice where the comment is placed specifically.
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I’m trying the app now. It should make for more brevity. When I make little mistakes like that I usually take them as part of the ‘plan’ but also time to take a break. ☺
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I’ve done the same but was unsure how and wondered if the app is glitchy at times. It’s writing can be hard to work with due to format anomalies as well as randomly duplicating a paragraph or two. I’ve found some things are best done on the computer version and others on the app. A hybrid approach works for me, albeit inconvenient at times.
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Yes I flip back and forth thru the day. Instead of spending a small fortune on laptops for every floor, I hook up old gear and my tab to my half-decent computer thru a remote desktop app. Some things are better done without the remote connection. Some are faster with it.
If I write a long tome like this, I’m either on my computer or remotely connected to it!
I thought I had commented in the right pane. But who knows. I had been doing a lot on a 10″ screen and was probably starting to lose my edge. 🤦♂️
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Incredible power of words, and labels. A single word can reshape the experience. Great post !
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Our greatest struggles come not from uncertainty, but from resistance to uncertainty. We are not naturally content to not know. This quality makes us great researchers, scientists, inventors, explorers, and the like, but it can also narrow our view of the world and our existences. If we cannot accept uncertainty, then we cannot live, because life in and of itself is an uncertainty full of uncertainties. It’s similar to suffering: Suffering is a part of life, regardless of race, age, geography, or any other factor. When we reject suffering and seek to live a life free of it, we end up not living. When we accept suffering, we are no longer victims of it and can live fully.
Thanks for the thoughts to ponder this evening.
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This is a good comment, Abigail. And that is a good post, Prof. Thomas Larson. Uncertainty can be understood not just through the Uncertainty Principle in quantum mechanics, but also via process philosophy (also known as processism, philosophy of organism, or ontology of becoming) in relation to change, causality, (in)determinism, metaphysical reality, stoic philosophy as well as the philosophy of space and time. These are discussed in detail at the concluding section called “Conclusion: Change Rules and Moment Matters” in a very long post published at https://soundeagle.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/soundeagle-in-best-moment-award-from-moment-matters/#Conclusion
Happy August to all of you!
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I think a complete assessment of all perspectives and meanings of uncertainty and it’s affects and effects is worthwhile. I’ll look into your post!
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Thank you in anticipation, Prof. Larson. I look forward to reading your feedback there. Please be informed that you might need to use a desktop or laptop computer with a large screen to view the rich multimedia contents available for heightening your multisensory enjoyment at my websites, some of which could be too powerful and feature-rich for iPad, iPhone, tablet or other portable devices to handle properly or adequately. A fast broadband connection is also helpful. 🙂
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So true, suffering begats suffering. Pain begats pain. Until one can change their focus.
❤️🦋🌀
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