Wednesday Wisdom: Learning to Live with Uncertainty


Daily Buddhist [Wednesday Wisdom]

By Brendan Barca & Pema Sherpa

Age-old Buddhist wisdom for modern living. Weekly insight loved by over 17,600 practitioners. 🙏

...

Learning to Live with Uncertainty

“The root of suffering is resisting the certainty that no matter what the circumstances, uncertainty is all we truly have.”
— Pema Chödrön

We don’t always realize how uncomfortable uncertainty can be.

When we don’t know what will happen, what someone meant by what they said, or how a situation will turn out, the mind often rushes to fill in the gaps. We create stories, make assumptions, and look for answers simply because not knowing feels difficult.

We want certainty because it makes us feel safe. But life cannot give us the certainty we’re asking for.

People change. Circumstances change. Plans change.

Even the things that feel secure today can look completely different tomorrow.

The suffering we feel usually comes not from uncertainty itself, but from resisting the fact that uncertainty is unavoidable.

Our practice then is learning to stay with that uncertainty without immediately needing to resolve it.

We can notice the mind searching for certainty and return to what is actually known, rather than treating every thought or possibility about the future as fact.

The next time you find yourself needing to know how something will turn out, pause and notice the urge to figure it out.

Can you allow yourself to not know, without needing an answer right now?

5 Timeless Lessons from the Buddha [FREE]

Get our most popular ebook—downloaded 6,000+ times

7 Buddhist Practices for Managing Anger [FREE]

Get the ebook helping 2,500+ others manage their anger

The Daily Buddhist Book [Hard Cover]

366 Days of Wisdom. Available everywhere books are sold.

28 Days to Living Buddhist Wisdom [Ebook]

Reflections + journal prompts

...

Thanks for being here!

Brendan & Pema

​@Daily.Buddhist [Follow us on IG!]

P.S. We're working on something new for you! Stay on the newsletter to be the first to access it!

Unsubscribe

The Daily Buddhist Newsletter

Created by Pema Sherpa & Brendan Barca. Join the 13,000+ subscribers getting The Daily Buddhist Newsletter. Every Wednesday morning you'll get 1 quote, 1 reflection, & 1 action to lead a calmer, clearer, & more conscious life.

Read more from The Daily Buddhist Newsletter

Daily Buddhist [Wednesday Wisdom] By Brendan Barca & Pema Sherpa Age-old Buddhist wisdom for modern living. Weekly insight loved by over 18,000 practitioners. 🙏 ... Finding Freedom in Fun Every day, our 2-year-old only seems to want to do one thing: have fun. She wants to go to the playground, eat the “tastier” snacks, play dress-up, sing in the bath, and paint her nails (with non-toxic gel, of course!). Right up until bedtime, she’s trying to squeeze in “just one more” fun activity. As a...

Daily Buddhist [Wednesday Wisdom] By Brendan Barca & Pema Sherpa Age-old Buddhist wisdom for modern living. Weekly insight loved by over 18,000 practitioners. 🙏 ... Beginnings and Endings “Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well.”- Jack Kornfield When these things come to an end, we often wish we could go back to the way things were. But that's just not the way the world works. Every single thing that has a beginning has an ending. A...

Daily Buddhist [Wednesday Wisdom] By Brendan Barca & Pema Sherpa Age-old Buddhist wisdom for modern living. Weekly insight loved by over 18,000 practitioners. 🙏 ... Knowing When to Let Go The Buddha once told his students about a man who came to a wide, dangerous river. There was no bridge, no boat, and no easy way across. The man gathered branches, vines, and other materials and built a raft. He pushed it into the water, climbed aboard, and used it to make his way safely to the other side....