The Beauty of UnCERTAINty

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

- Vincent Van Gogh

My beautiful, kind-hearted, and loving cousin sent me a letter today concerning the uncertainty of her next move. She and I as children, were always so certain about everything. We knew what we were going to do, we played with dolls in a way that made sense, we organized trips to see each other, made good grades, graduated from high school and college in the 4 years allotted (w/ 3.0 + g.pa.'s), and went off to explore the world in our own ways thereafter. I chose to go to graduate school and get my Master's in Social Work and she went of to Africa and worked and explored for about a year and a half.

With all of our perfection, we were also smart enough to hide our imperfections. Keeping each other's bloopers, blemishes, and little dark secrets tucked away in places our family would never find. We went through everything at relatively the same points in time, whether it was a steady boyfriend that ended in heartbreak, or a fling that lasted only for a moment. Our Lives had been tied together through our experiences, tighter than genetics or the 25% of related blood in our veins. The connection can only be described to me as a gift from God, a great friend and partner to experience life with.

You can imagine that her telling me that she didn't know what the next move was came to me as no shock. When she described her life of "success and perfection," I laughed because I know the feeling. After all that success and greatness, What happens when you get to the point where things don't work? What do you do when you are not use to dealing with uncertainty?

My response was, "Great, now you can live!" I am so happy for anyone that comes to a point were they have to look at their life and figure out what comes next. I'm even happier for anyone that diligently searches themselves and the universe for what is in their purpose to happen. Why, you ask? It's simple and complicated, but here it goes: Life is a journey.

Life is a journey, in which if you never stop to stare at the stars, or smell the roses, you will never understand what Van Gogh is talking about. You will never understand why God exists or why love is still good, despite all of the pain it brings. Life is a journey that if you never stop at the road side attraction or take time to look at the map, you can get lost in sea of cars and mindless wanderers. A Road, just like life, has hills, bumps, and gutters. It can be long or short, and can dead end or change.

The beauty of uncertainty is delicately intertwined with the beauty of hope. When we know and have everything, we have nothing to hope or dream for, which are two of the most beautiful things in life. We just live complacently, never hoping or wishing. I challenge my cousin and anyone else to embrace uncertainty and enjoy the ride. Don't be reckless but don't get to the end of the road, look back, and not remember the things you saw. Lastly, be smart, keep the future in mind but don't forget that there a two side mirrors and a rear view, as well.

Good Luck!