The future is shrouded in a mist, a fog, a thick cloud of unknowing. Most of us realize that. But so likewise is most of the present, in many ways, and of course the past. We're surrounded by uncertainty. We guess. We assume. We think we know. And knowing is good, worth attempting and holding on to when we have it. But we have it as a possession much less than we think. So my conclusion is that we must be called to courage and faith and hope and creative action that does not depend on the full knowing we often wish and think we have.
The comparatively little that we do know should be our solid foundation for all else, but at the same time, we need to admit how much we do not see, or grasp. And yet, we should never let others pretend that nothing is known or that crucial things are no more than disputed, and should avoid that trap ourselves. It's a tightrope. A dynamic balance is our need. And that's a nice image, the taut thin rope representing those foundations we can know and use, and all the enveloping air standing in for the unknown and the very challenging. May we walk well into the uncertain together, whether on a bridge in the fog or on ropes in the air, and grow ourselves in the way that this alone allows.
