the fourth, and last, of our vuca explorations takes us to ambiguity.
we encounter ambiguity when something…a situation, a statement… has more than one meaning and can be understood in more than one way. therefore it often causes confusion or misunderstanding.certainly, our current world situation is filled with statements and situations that can be understood in more than one way! the advice we receive regarding protecting our health is ambiguous. the regulations we are expected to follow often can be confusing. and misunderstanding is commonplace.
to live in an ambiguous world asks us to be agile. flexibility helps us adapt to constant change. flexibility in mind and body supports all of us in whatever our current situation might be. it has always been so, though the desirability of flexible thinking is of even greater assistance now.
all of the world’s population has been asked to alter plans. what we might have planned for april or may or june of 2020 had to be cancelled or radically shifted. all of our social pathways suddenly changed. our habits were challenged.responding with agile, creative thinking allowed the ambiguity of the situation to shift. suddenly finding new pathways to daily activities opened new doors. while difficult and challenging, our years of experience held keys to finding our adaptability.learning new skills also helped us find our agility. recently a newspaper article featured a 92-year old who gave his iPad to a 93-year old friend so they could continue to visit, virtually. he taught his friend to use the iPad on the phone and then he, of course, bought a new one…online. many of us have learned new ways to communicate virtually over that last little while. we’ve become zoomers!
maintaining agility in body is vital when we are moving less. many of us, possibly because we’ve become zoomers, are sitting much more. there is very little casual walking to the corner shop or the newsagent. we are spending more time on the sofa of late. fortunately, online exercise and yoga videos, designed for elders, have become more common. they help us maintain joint and muscle health in these more sedentary times.
it is this agility and flexibility that enables elders to stay vibrant, engaged and embracing life. in this way we are models in the vuca world, continuing to grow and learn.