When Nothing is Certain........

A few years ago my friend Carol sent me a gift, a tile attached to a rod and cord with a quote inscribed:

WHEN NOTHING IS CERTAIN, EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE.

The quotable art piece sits on the window seat in my office and I am often aware of it when passing by. Its words resonate as my life flows and times change. The words give me comfort in times of turmoil, reminding me that anything is possible and that change is constant. The words give me a chuckle when uncertainty abounds and I welcome the lack of solidity that envelops my life at a given time. The words offer me perspective when I need a roadmap that is not within reach. The words clarify for me the fact that nothing is constant and that embracing change makes for a much happier life.

Yet, as I contemplated these words these past few weeks, they had a new resonance, a new resilience that was apparent to me with crystal clarity. At this time, more than any I can remember….extending well beyond the womb of my life….less is certain than ever. Times are changing rapidly and nothing is certain. Not that it ever was, but the shifts going on in our world are both profound and subtle. Both apparent and concealed. Both tumultuous and gentle. The shifts are significant and will leave us with a vastly different landscape of life. A vastly more life affirming and healthy landscape for life will be ours if, only if, we can….as a living, breathing, human world….embrace the change that is in our midst.

We must at all costs embrace the essence of who we are, not who we think we are or who we want to be, all of which are often mirages of the reality within us. We must embrace our highest selves, the one that speaks to us from the center of our being, from our hearts. The one from where the sparks of a smile and the flames of joy are emoted. The one from where love springs and faith is released. The love word is tough for some to embrace. The love feeling is one that sometimes evokes emotional havoc. But in its purest form, at its genesis, is where life happens. This is where life is meant to be lived. Even in the midst of tragedy and chaos….inevitable in the journey of this life we live….when love is allowed to speak and is welcomed in, anything is more surmountable.

And so, when nothing is certain, everything is possible. When hatred, distrust, fear and violence abound and the world seems as if it is falling apart with disarray and suffering in abundant manifestation….TAKE NOTICE because EVERYTHING is possible. Certainty that the chaos will ensue is no surer than an abundant blooming of peace and love and joy.

Know however, that it does not begin with someone else. It begins with you. It begins with me. It begins with faith that change will come. Change that is good and honest and not driven by fear. Change that is certain and change that is possible. It begins with each of us. It begins in our hearts and it can begin when we choose to let go of our fears, let go of our insistence on control. Let go of our anger and let go of our doubts and let go of our past. Look to the future with our feet firm in the present…..as change flows constantly and present becomes past, future becomes present and change marches on. Move forward with courage and perseverance, knowing that all will be well.

One thing is certain, the sooner we free our hearts from the bondage of the demand for certainty, the sooner our hearts will sing the sweet song of possibility.

© 2008. Nancy H. Rothstein