What If...?: The Fear Of The Future
"Mummy, you need to hold Junior. He might fall." Telma, my four year old daughter, was concerned about her eight month old brother. "If he falls," I said, "he will stand and try again. After all, he is not complaining. He is joyful, and needs to walk." "But, mummy, what if he gets injured?" She probed further. "Omalicha," I called her native pet name, "though, I have cleared harmful objects around that might hurt him, if he gets injured, we will make proper use of our first aid. He just simply needs to walk." I assured.
Mr. Ojo desired to plant some pawpaw seeds at his backyard, and thought to negotiate with the soil to be sure to have all his returns as females, first, before doing so. He said to the soil, "Here are some pawpaw seeds. I intend to give them to you for sometime, nourish you and take care of you, but, at due time, you will produce only female pawpaw plants in return. Deal?" The soil smiled and said "I cannot guarantee that. What I do know is that no matter the gender I produce, there will be a female plant that will yield more seeds and fruit to you."
"I am going to jail for a crime I did not commit. Certainly, my life is wrecked forever!" Kingsley cried in lament to his friend, Joe. "No, not certainly. It is a probability as long as you are breathing. Archie Williams is not wrecked. Nelson Mandela was not wrecked, likewise Corey Atchison and some. Even if you were going in for a crime you committed, it does not mean that you are certainly wrecked. Being wrecked or not, is in your hands. You see the jail as hell, but all I am trying to say is that you can make a heaven of a hell, and a hell out of a heaven, in any situation." Joe said in consolation with his hands on Kingskey's left shoulder.
These are just iotas of examples that portray our desires to be certain about getting our desired results before starting; or, our quest for what we want without the interference of unpleasantries. We want to be sure before stepping out. We want to know the end from the beginning. But, what is life if we can predict correctly, every of our next moves? Imagine it was a movie, would it be captivating or boring, if you knew all its scenes? The beauty of life is in manifesting bliss when the world predicts woe. It is in manifesting abundance where mediocrity was predicted. It is showing up in faith and courage when the world anticipates despair, depression and anguish.
The fear of the future named as Chronophobia, often emerge from our quest to knowing it all before stepping out. If we see life as an adventure, we might not be engrossed in the fear of the future, even when it surfaces. Instead, in whatever results we get, or situations we encounter as we journey through life, we could choose to make a heaven or a hell of it. Adventure comes with uncertainties, so, uncertainty is not a curse. Even if a soothsayer were to foretell the future, there will still be uncertain moments to be encountered.
Our fears need not stop us from starting that project; learning that skill; letting go of some offers; writing that book; starting that exercise or school programme; and lots more. Let us uphold perspectives that keep sanity, blissfulness, and peace. Let us walk through life adventurously, and be awed as well as appreciative, as we realise what we never knew; learn lessons from failures; appreciate the joy of achieving our goals; grieve, yet, uphold ourselves from the loss of a loved one, body part(s), friendship(s), assets, or whatever. In this light, uncertainty could be a blessing in its entirety. The ups and downs, rainy and sunny days, gloomy and ecstatic days, will sum up to a life well lived, and not a life hindered by some WHAT IFs.