The (not so) mere word, ‘uncertainty’, can instantly create a conditioned reaction of a knot in my stomach.
The greater part of me watches with light amusement at my physical reaction to my mind’s instant conclusion, that it’s not a good thing.
Why must it be a bad thing?
Isn’t every moment of every day full of uncertainty?
There are only 2 things I can think of that are a certainty – birth and death.
I cannot see anything in between.
Without uncertainty the world would be so boring. No surprises. No anticipation. No joy.
So if I know that, I mean really know that, then why do I still experience the knee jerk knot in the stomach?
Habit! That’s what it is. Pure and simple conditioned habit. Despite all the self development work I have lived over the past few decades I can still, sometimes, have an old programmed reaction.
But I am changing consciously. I cannot not change. So I may as well accept it and allow change to happen.
I can embrace uncertainty with a different perspective. See it as a source for wonder. Wondering just what may appear in my life next. Wonder what the next adventure may be.
The knot in my stomach is there still but my experience of it has changed.
Now it is one of anticipated excitement. A journey into the unknown. Endless possibility.
I know that if I refrain from labelling it, it is certain to remain a limitless experience.
By Day – It’s amazing how many times I have taken a shot through a window, knowing full well the quality of the shot could be pretty poor. But sometimes, that really doesn’t matter. It is a moment in life that just deserves more presence of attention and merits the joy of preserving it for a future date.
In the case of this song thrush, I had been listening to it singing away but couldn’t actually see where it was perched. As I passed the window, there it sat, bold as brass on the grass nonchalantly preening itself in the sunlight. I prayed it would still be there by the time I’d wrestled my camera out of its bag and it was and continued to bathe unperturbed much longer than I was prepared to stand stooped over the camera.
By Night – Drawn to the magnificent sky as I passed the window, I simply had to snap it. I loved the way the dark slanted window framed it all.
Magic
Land of Images 