As I’m writing this, life in its current state feels very uncertain. Systems we’ve relied on are being disrupted and dismantled. Is this a good thing? Is this a bad thing? As of right now, there’s no way to know. We just know we’ve never been here before.

While alarm bells are triggered in our bodies and minds, telling us that something is off, we find ourselves frozen in the transition between the life we’ve always known and the life that’s inevitably waiting for us; the life we couldn’t have prepared for.

We may begin to notice that our daily choices are already being impacted by the confusion. Folks are reconsidering how they want to move through life, and what it would take to eliminate the latest version of anxiety or hyper-vigilance that didn’t seem to be such an issue ten years ago. We’re questioning our careers, our goals, our abilities, and our innate desire to enjoy the one life we have. We’re asking ourselves questions today we wouldn’t have considered before. Like, does it make sense to work from home, or work in the office? Should I change my career so that I can have the choice? Are schools in trouble? Is college going to be a thing anymore? What does a food shortage in America actually look like? Is there freedom to be found in taking steps toward a life we never imagined, or will we merely become captives of the grand ideas we won’t be equipped to materialize?

When nothing is certain, and anything is possible, we may find we’re in for a wild ride.

We’re Bound to break

Ugh. No one wants to hear that. Still, this is the inevitable truth based on universal law. Extreme division yields combustion, and currently our country and the world is the most divided it’s been over the course of our lifetimes. We don’t know what we don’t know, but once we do, how will we respond?

In the event that more and more people become overwhelmed by uncertainty in response to shock and awe, our human nature is wired to respond with aggression and anger. In the moment, these responses feel justified. Necessary, even. Yet, aggression bears a short fuse and, take it from me, it can only sustain for so long before it burns out completely. When that happens, then what?

We are left holding a new, shattered reality with an overall impact that takes much longer to process and resolve. We can see this play out firsthand in the history of our own family stories.

No matter what happens, there is always hope in breaking, even if it feels terrible at first. I’d bet my life on it.