Living with the Gift of Ambiguity | Filed under General
Have you ever struggled with the anxiety of feeling unsure of what to do when you were faced with a difficult situation in life? How did you feel about the uncertainty of not knowing the “right” answer or what your next step should be? If you are like so many of us, you probably felt somewhat uncomfortable in the abyss of not knowing, living with so much “ambiguity.”
The only thing that is constant in life is CHANGE…. how many times have we heard those pearls of wisdom in our lives? I would venture to say, many! After all, the only things that are certain in life are death and taxes, right?? God, I hope not!
So many of us want predictability in our lives.
We expect guarantees like: “you’ll love me forever, right?” Or… if I follow all the rules, and just do X, than Y is certain to occur.” Who told us that these were absolutes? Perhaps it was our parents, our teachers, and/or our religion that comprised the myriad of social agents in our youth. What were they thinking anyway? Well for starters, how about The Great Depression, WW2 and, of course, Ozzie & Harriet!
Truth be told, when we do X…most often, Y is NOT a guaranteed outcome. Sometimes, we end up with an A, B and C outcome that will inevitably provide us with more happiness in the long run (if we can just TRUST the PROCESS).
So, does living with ambiguity shake you up a little?
I would like to offer you a different perspective on this process. What if we identified this state of mind as a safe space rather than a scary one? A place where no decision has been made, so therefore, you are open to the field of all possibilities.
At that given moment, every option is still available to you. How wonderful! Remember…in any given situation you are always at choice as to how you interpret that particular situation. Consider reframing ambiguity into a positive state…a “gift” of not knowing. Have faith that everything you need shall come to you in the perfect time and space sequence!
The best way that I can describe this is through an excerpt I read in a book by Louise Hay. She described the “waiting process” (ambiguous uncertainty, if you will), akin to ordering food at a restaurant. You trust that the waiter will take your order, deliver it to the kitchen, and in the right time, your food will be served. You don’t keep asking the waiter every two seconds, “is it ready yet” or “how are they making it.” Instead, you know, you believe, that it will be taken care of in the perfect time, when it is READY it will be delivered to you (sometimes on a silver platter)!
Maybe we can all embrace this thing we call “ambiguity” realizing that the process of “not knowing” can be an amazing time of growth and self-discovery. I will take it a step further and admit that one can even “thrive” during the process of ambiguity.
What I know for sure is that many things in life require time and reflection. With the important things in life, there often needs to be a season of contemplating before a season of knowing and acting. And…lest I forget, having a good sense of humor through it all is really important too!
What are you risking by considering letting go of the fear of ambiguity? I believe that RISK is synonymous with ADVENTURE (and we all need some form of adventure in our lives). Welcome the ambiguity, and look for the “UNLIMITED POSSIBILITIES” in every circumstance of your amazing life.
Come take this step toward making LIfe Simply Good and have no regrets.
March 4th, 2005 at 10:23 am
This post is so right. My trust can be better described as faith.
March 4th, 2005 at 10:44 am
Live is an adventure every day if you wake up! Have a good one girl!
March 4th, 2005 at 11:16 am
perception in life can define even whether you live or die. now if only it wasn’t so goddamn foggy all the time..
March 4th, 2005 at 11:49 am
Having a good sense of humour through it all may not fix it but it sure helps you go throught it! Laughing out lound helps too
Thank you for the encouraging words you left for me at Greg’s *hugs*
March 4th, 2005 at 12:16 pm
A fan of yours for some time now and although I’ve done nothing but lurk, I have to break the silence to tell you that this post really hit home for me this morning! Thank you..I love your perspective, your positive attitude and your sensibility :))
Added you to my list of daily reads so I won’t miss another post! Have a great day
March 4th, 2005 at 1:01 pm
Wow, that is exactly where I’m at, except as above, I too call it Faith. God’s will be done. Making decisions based on what feels right now for me instead of the “safe” decision. Thanks for wordsmithing it so well.
TTFN, Cowboy
March 4th, 2005 at 1:13 pm
You really should consider writing a short book of inspiration! Because you always offer us such great pearls of wisdom.
March 4th, 2005 at 1:31 pm
Live the dream !!
March 4th, 2005 at 5:18 pm
Always introspective and you stretch me as a woman. I’m a natural risktaker, scripts are to be rewritten. oxxo
March 4th, 2005 at 8:37 pm
I love good surprises in life, it is the bad ones I can do without. Those I’m never really prepared for, unless it is something that I could see that possibly happening and can plan for the bad outcome. I think we need some ambiguity though, to keep us on our toes, and grateful for when things go well and not take it for granted.
Have a wonderful weekend! *HUGS*
March 4th, 2005 at 10:29 pm
A very timeley post for me. Thank you!
Sometimes I spend a lot of energy waiting for everything to become clear. It just doesn’t always work that way.
March 5th, 2005 at 2:13 am
Hey, sweet thang, I came back to read some of the back posts, because of your comment on my music/reading…. made my curiosity perk up…. anyways, just wanted to say that your posts from February really rock! That is so where I am at now…. I am so glad you finally posted a comment so that I could fly over here to visit. Now I have a Shakesperean ode to Victoria in my head somewhere, I will post it tomorrow after some time to work it out.
March 5th, 2005 at 5:03 pm
This is a wonderful post - it really hit home with me.
Thanks for stopping by my site via Michele’s.
March 7th, 2005 at 1:46 am
Thank you for this wonderful reminder. I have been living with a lot of ambiguity lately, and I really appreciated this entry.