On the idea of beyond certainty, it has always struck me that that
certainty is not an option. What we need to think about is "levels of
uncertainty." The future we confront and shape may be more or less
uncertain by how well we manage ourselves and contribute to the processes
of which we are a part. One of our gifts as human beings with self
awareness is our ability to know this. We do not have to be overwhelmed
by uncertainty, we can relish and learn from our experience. Many of the
problems in this world have come from people who are unwilling to deal
with uncertainty and try to create a world without uncertainty, one where
people and everything else conform to expectations. This is not possible,
and it just creates unhappiness for everyone. If we can appreciate that
uncertainty is a fact of life, we can manage it better, not let it
overwhelm us, and, as I said before, let it be the source of learning that
it is.
-- John Woods The Quality Yearbook jwoods@execpc.com