CERTAINTIES

[Life being what it is, I sometimes get caught up in a tangle of  appointments and obligations that siphon off my energy or steal my time. So, herewith a rerun of "Certainties," a form of self-care that I need right now. Still timely. Sad to say. But maybe that's also a good thing. Hope it helps you, too.]

Unless you've been out of touch with the world for the past seven months, you know that practically every other article/broadcast/podcast mentions our current time as one of Uncertainty.

All right, I've heard it, you've heard it, probably we've even said it. So why am I writing today about Certainty? Well, why not? It's much more positive than UN
-certainty.

And yet--speaking or writing about Certainties always contains the opposite, or, if not opposite, then at least some of the "dark side." For example, one of our certainties is that change is upon us, and in us, and around us; the un-certain part is not knowing what our world, our individual lives, will look like when we get out on the "other side."

Do we ever know the outcome? Did we ever know--for certain--that choices/decisions we made would turn out as they have?

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Let's look at some Certainties:

--seasons changing--with their temperature changes--amount of daylight waxing/waning

--time passing--people aging, kids growing up--buildings being demolished, new homes being built

--societal definitions shifting--what is a family, for example

Can you do anything about any of those? Can I?

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Here are some other Certainties:

--loyalty

--friendship

--compassion

--love

--honor

--integrity

What changes is perspective--how each of us interprets these qualities, based on our upbringing, our experiences in later life.

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For some folks, God is a Certainty. Some people say "Supreme Being" or "Higher Power"--but I'm comfortable talking about God. For me, God is a Certainty. Never mind unanswered prayers, or injuries to my ego; or the times I walked away from God. Nothing, and no one, can convince me that God abandoned me, or punished me, or deliberately injured me or allowed something dire to happen in my life. God is love. For me, that's certain. Call it faith, if you prefer. For me--it's a Certainty.

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We live in "uncertain times"--ask anybody. We're surrounded by disappointment and sadness, by lack of supplies and by disturbing news; we work at jobs we'd never consider if life was "normal" and we take wages we know will barely cover what we owe. We watch people die because they're old, or young, or vulnerable, or because they're compassionate and work in the very midst of a medical calamity.

The only way to cope, it seems to me, is to find some Certainty in our lives--then hold onto that as our life raft while we're tossed in the strong current of Un-certainty. Then we can give thanks that there is one thing we can cling to, one thing we can count on.

For some people that one thing is music--or art--or poetry--or woodworking, sewing, knitting, cooking--reading to a beloved child or a blind person who loves to hear a story.

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When you find your Certainty, share it with someone else. You never know who needs a good word.

Blessings!