The Conditions of Uncertainty-Confusion

"Confusion is a word we have invented for an order which is not understood." – Henry Miller  

Confusion is the second condition of uncertainty. In my last post, I suggested that uncertainty is a lack of knowledge, experience, precedent, or assurance about current conditions and what may emerge in future. 

Most people are made uncomfortable by such conditions. Not Visionmakers. They see the conditions of uncertainty, including confusion, as openings for the Field of Possibility-the geography of unlimited creativity and potential.

Confusion is generally seen as "a state of bewilderment and lack of clarity, a disorderly jumble." In Latin, it means "mingled together" and that is precisely how Visionmakers understand it. They see confusion as the place of emerging order.  

Rather than be overwhelmed by the appearance of chaos, they hold the creative tension that comes with this "developing coherence," recognizing that inquisitiveness, patience and trust are required to see the new patterns as they are forming, in real time.

Albert Einstein speaks to this capacity for managing creative tension, the atmosphere of uncertainty, that accompanies the journey from confusion to clarity when he states: "I used to go away for weeks in a state of confusion." 

Imagine being able to remain open and confident for weeks at a time in states of confusion, trusting that you will recognize the new pattern that is just emerging to view! That is a supreme accomplishment of the will ...and a goal for all Visionmakers. 

We live in an age of instant gratification. Many people panic and collapse when they can't figure out the answer to something immediately. Or they become bored and impatient, ultimately abandoning the quest to understand something new. Others still turn on themselves, victims of harsh self-criticism.

Visionmakers prefer a different approach. They actively train to build the capacity to explore the emerging future with quiet confidence. They realize that if they become confused, they are being initiated into the next order of clarity.

This new order carries with it a test – will we succumb to disorder, lack of distinctions, unfamiliarity, and breakdown and quit the pursuit? Or, will we follow Einstein's example and move from confusion through curiosity, tenacity, patient observation, creative thinking and trusting ourselves and the circumstances? 

The Visionmaker's choice is obvious.

© Patrick O’Neill 2009. All rights reserved.