But, given that his boots are already up on the table, and it’s unlikely he’s going to be leaving anytime soon, I decided to get to know him more. I’m glad I did. I found him more provocative than I expected. He helped me see that his alter-ego, Certainty, fed my hubris and unconsciously created a roadmap to the boring town of Predictability. He also reminded me how my sojourn in life has been more interesting since I fled that town, and how I’d be wise to remember the words of Helen Keller (who truly had to create her own roadmap): “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than exposure.”
I hated to admit it, but Uncertainty left me with something more than I had before he sat down.
In a time when we may be on the precipice of an economy that mirrors the one FDR presided over, people will likely parrot his quote on fear. But I think his wife Eleanor also has much to offer about welcoming change into one’s life. Her wisdom is timeless:
“Nearly all great civilizations that perished did so because they had crystallized, because they were incapable of adapting themselves to new conditions, new methods, new points of view. It is as though people would rather die than change.”
Maybe it’s time to make peace and break a little bread with Uncertainty. It may lead us not only out of despair but to some bold and exciting new place where we could have never imagined.