january this year marked the death of one of america’s most noted writers, ursula k. le guin.
she brought fantasy and science fiction into the world of literature with her vision, her insight and her fearlessness. she had a twinkle in her eye and was courageous in the face of early rejection, both as a woman and in her chosen genre.she wrote:
the only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty…not knowing what comes next.
how do we live with this uncertainty? this is the emptiness of zen, the non-attachment of hinduism, the surrender of the abrahamic faiths, the existential reality.this is the reality that olders face as we become elders. no matter what spiritual path (or none) we might follow, this intolerable not knowing is the door to growth and to change.we plan.we hope.we write in our diaries.
we wake each morning with ideas about the day.we set out to act.we step forward.and then the unexpected, the not known, happens.it begins with a scratchy throat, or a headache, or a stumble, or a phone call.it begins with a minor grump.it begins with a cancelled appointment.it begins with a rose in bloom.it begins with a lover’s touch.it begins with a smile.it begins with a heartache, a loss.it begins with any one of the trillion possibilities a day can hold.and then the uncertainty we live with manifests.it is what makes life possible, the ever-changing, rich humus of life. this is the never-ending unfolding of each breath, each day, each season, each cycle.we live in the not knowing of life and of death.