We Don’t Know How This Will Turn Out

What if we just don’t know how things will turn out?

I tend to remember my dreams in great detail. They are often a combination of imagery I’ve picked up over the course of a day, plus the processing of subconscious material. Lately, I’ve noticed a theme where during the climax of the dream, when I’m about to encounter some significant piece of information or resolution, I wake up. This is typically a very rare occurrence, but it is happening many times a week.

It feels symbolic. It feels like a reminder that we just don’t know what the next moment will bring us. Of course, I think this is true all the time. But pre-pandemic, I think collectively we lived more in the illusion of certainty and control.

I am also reminded of The Stockdale Paradox, that I just read about recently, which holds the belief that one will prevail, while simultaneously accepting the current reality, in all its brutal detail—as opposed to straight optimism, which has an aspect of denial.

As we grasp for the return to normalcy, can we just leave space for the unknown?

“You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end

—which you can never afford to lose —with the discipline

to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality,

whatever they might be.” ~ James Stockdale