February 25, 2025
We are in a challenging political moment that is echoing seemingly everywhere. Everyone keeps saying this is a time like no other, and that no one is quite sure what happens next or what to do about it. Even if that's not entirely true, it can sure feel that way.
When we encounter something new or are faced with a new situation we reach for a familiar explanation. We say “This new thing is like that old thing” and work to fit our understanding of the past onto an uncertain present, and then behave as if the match worked. Our explanation of the past event is almost certainly incomplete, and its fit with the present is almost certainly clunky. We need a good story in order to get out of bed in the morning, our day has to make some sense for us to dive into it. But too much sense-making risks our stories leading us astray.
Most of life is mostly ambiguous. We never fully know our own motives, let alone anyone else’s. We never entirely know what’s going to happen next (for example, what would happen if blanket government layoffs meant Yosemite National Park’s only locksmith lost his job). We are pretty sure about our close relationships, we don’t tend to second guess the laws of nature, and yes your essay is still due, but overall most stuff is mostly up in the air.
In the face of uncertainty, we create order. We assert causes. We make assumptions. We ascribe motives. All of which makes sense, both as it imposes a familiar logic on the unfamiliar, and it is a reasonable thing to do. An unexamined life may not be worth living, but an over-examined life is exhausting, unworkable, and can make you bad company.
Like you, I don’t know what’s going to happen next. And, like you, I can get pretty stressed out about that. So I make sense. I assert causes and consequences, ascribe motives, and identify villains, victims, victors, and vanquished. I tell myself stories that order what can often feel like a chaotic world. I also try hard to remember that my stories are just that - just stories, and only mine. They are neither everyone’s story nor universal explanations. I work hard to embrace ambiguity and uncertainty.
As you make sense and reach for familiar stories to help navigate unfamiliar situations, be sure to leave open the possibility of being surprised. Don’t leap to conclusions without sound evidence or reasons. Fill in the gaps you need to get through the day, but know you’re the one doing the filling. Learn to embrace ambiguity. Keep learning and be open to being surprised.
And please keep working on the puzzle. It’s getting annoying.