Friends! As I prepare for a second Wisdom Weekend Retreat on The Gift of Uncertainty, October 10-12 here at the beach (2 seats still available) and edit my final draft of a book by the same title, I’ve considered beginning the book of practical philosophy with a little story that came to me yesterday. Here it is for your pondering pleasure:
The animals of the forest had gathered in a small group at daybreak. It was early autumn, with just a touch of chill in the morning air. One squirrel glanced around and with an unusually serious expression on his face and in his voice said to his friends, “I’ve decided not to go hunt for nuts today. There’s far too much uncertainty in the forest.” A second squirrel quickly replied, “Yes, there’s been a dense fog of the unpredictable in recent days.”
A nearby rabbit commented, “Dangers and threats that are known are bad, of course, but the unknown are perhaps worse.” There was a general nodding of heads as a small lizard scampered by, heading into thick cover, which struck the rabbit as a neat metaphor of the very phenomenon they were discussing.
A racoon added, “It’s just that too much mystery surrounds us now.” Silence followed his remark for a moment, as if symbolically confirming the theme. “And deep ambiguity,” a small gray mouse then replied.
Suddenly, they all heard a familiar “Who? Who? Who is to say?” These words came from a low branch of the large tree above them and announced the presence of a wise old owl, who sagely added: “At one level, uncertainty is an objective fact, at another a subjective perception, and at a third, an intellectual, conceptual construct that often constrains us, though we ironically take it to be empowering, and in part because of its protective nature as a recognition and caution, and that is certainly a paradox."
The other animals stared at him and in unison said, “What?” They were of course uncertain as to his meaning, which was just one more enigma for them to ponder on this newborn day.
