Living with uncertainty: is it still possible to manifest your dreams?

“For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.”

– Vincent van Gogh

My family are brilliant planners, impeccably dependable and efficient at getting things done. Family dinners often ended with graph paper, sketching out ideas, and home layouts (my dad was in construction and my mom loved to decorate, and now my sister is in the real estate business).

Over the years, much of what was drawn, was built. To imagine anything that wasn't practically possible would be seen as stupid or unrealistic.

I inherited my family's efficiency and competency at planning. Yet, there was something else in me. I was born with an idealistic spark in my soul, one that at once broke my heart into a million pieces in my early years, and then nurtured its vulnerable expansion as I grew.

I wanted to tap into what might be possible. I wanted to keep awakening the intuition in my heart. As time went on, I wanted to give back.

Balancing your desire, with the power of Now

“The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty; not knowing what comes next.”

– Ursula K. LeGuin

Now I don't live in my visions, and I do appreciate the present. For the visionaries reading this now, you know that there's a delicate balance.

When you want to move toward a dream, it's good practice to accept all of what's offered to you.

You want a relationship? Love and appreciate the relationships you have. Want more money? Love and deftly manage the money you have. Want a beautiful home? Beautify your space now, even if it's just one room.

Perhaps you receive something you desired, perhaps you receive something that you say thank you, no to, or perhaps you hold something for someone else (I support re-gifting, if it's done from the heart!). Through this ebb and flow, you get to experience what it's like to receive and to give.

Do you accept the wild nature of manifestation?

“Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security.”

– John Allen Paulos

The universe isn't linear, it's fluid. The universe, the quantum field, or God, if you will, is a visionary who knows this. Manifestation flow. It's not a Gantt chart, it's more like a garden growing wild.

I don't know about you, but in my life at the moment, there's enormous growth and at the same time, great uncertainty. Over time, I've grown to love uncertainty. For this is the nature of life. Nothing is certain. Nothing is known, except that we will die. Until then, are you ready to accept the surprises that come, in all forms?

In my business right now, I have a wonderful consulting client, who I'll work with as long as they'll have me. This was a surprise, for I thought I was done with this corporate work. I decided to accept what was offered, holding things lightly, for this work is no more certain than any other.

In my creative life, I have so many ideas, and only so many resources to get them done. I found help last year, by discovering what was in front of me. In this case, it was my friend James who I've known for 15 years. I needed help, and he was free. And guess what? My new consulting gig, allowed me to pay him.

In my homey life, my dear friends have listened to me talk for years about how I need to live on the lake again, like I did growing up. So I've searched, most recently in the beautiful Bruce Peninsula, where the water’s crystal blue.

Perhaps some day I'll make a home there. The truth is that that time is not Now. I began to wonder: If this dream isn't now, what then, am I failing to recognize in my present?

What are you failing to see in your Now?

“The quest for certainty blocks the search for meaning. Uncertainty is the very condition to impel man to unfold his powers.”

– Erich Fromm

As I write today, I'm sitting here in the small guest cabin at my family's cottage. My sister and her partner are living in the main cottage right now. My dad lives ten minutes away in town, in a condo close to the water.

This space is basic, nothing fancy. I grew up with it. It's on the water. It's available to me now. It's a certainty. Until it isn't.

As I write, in this moment, I can hear the waves. This morning, I got up and did some Tai Chi on the deck, facing the sunrise and then cut some luscious peonies to place here and there and took pictures of them. The water is here for me, it's Now. It's only 20 feet away.

My dream, my vision to be on the water isn't about real estate. It's about sensuality and connection. Connecting with nature, the creative energy that surges through me when my entire body is immersed in this Big Water, listening to the waves, my feet on the cool rocks.

The beauty of uncertainty

“Uncertainty and mystery are energies of life. Don't let them scare you unduly, for they keep boredom at bay and spark creativity.”

– R.I. Fitzhenry

Today as I write, this is my Now. That will change.

Uncertainty is beautiful. It's loose and flowing, and mercurial. It's translucent, and it changes every day. When you ground yourself in uncertainty, there's nothing to fear. There's just Flow.

Make friends with uncertainty. Know that she is also the mother of breakaways, of turnarounds, of tipping points, and joyful unexpected surprises.

We're all living uncertainty, whether we choose to befriend her, or not.

Today, as I write, I can't imagine anything more beautiful than these brilliant peonies in a throwaway, second hand vase and a dollar store milk container.

Can you?

Meaning of life articles for your heart. Created with love.

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