I am currently reading a book titled The Black Swan. It is a very cool book. At least the parts I understand. Here is the basic idea of a Black Swan. A Black Swan is a highly improbable event with three principal characteristics: It is unpredictable; it carries massive impact; and here is my favorite part; after the fact, we concoct an explanation that makes it appear less random, and more predictable, than it was.
In layman terms, life is much more random than we would like to believe. The author has created some very interesting thoughts for me. I know we are a people that love order and we prefer to be able to explain everything. We are actually pretty good at this. But I wonder sometimes if it is a defense mechanism. I wonder, if in our attempts to explain and understand everything we are really attempting to control the events and people in our day to day lives.
The challenge with this is we tend to focus on what we already know and not so much on what we don't know. Even as we seek information or data to support our belief or view we tend to gravitate towards information that will support what we already believe. I think we all do this, but I keep thinking it may not be the best plan. Maybe the more comforting way to go, but not always the best.
If we take this approach with culture, spouses, children, coworkers, our view of ourselves, God and many other things we run the risk of living with blinders and missing many beautiful things every day. We tend to fool ourselves into thinking we know more than we actually do. I believe when this happens we start missing opportunities to learn, grow and experience a bigger life.
God, is a great example. Many people in the world today seem to think they have him totally figured out. Just like the stock market. The truth is most stock analyst are educated gamblers, if there is such a thing. I'm pretty sure God is a little more complicated than the stock market. And yet many seem to think they have him all figured out. I'm not so sure I want to totally figure out God. I would like to think he is a little bigger and more complex than the human mind.
The danger is that when I get to a place that I have God figured out I'm not as receptive to what he might do outside of my understanding of him. God's word is full of Black Swan events that have impacted the world and we keep trying to explain most of them so that they make perfect sense and fit nicely into our limited understanding.
I think our lives are a little more random than most of us would like to believe. Not void of a plan and purpose, but not quite as easy to direct and control as we would like to believe. Maybe part of giving up our own will and submitting to God's will is understanding this. That God is moving and working in the world and in our lives but not always the way we think. God is not a God of chaos but he certainly seems to be going about things a little different than I would.
I'm not asking for any more chaos in my life. I'm just reminding myself today I don't have to have it all figured out. I'm empowered to make choices and decisions every day but there are many, many things far out of my scope of control. Doesn't need to stress me out. I can roll with it and might even learn something new about myself, my wife, God or this beautiful life going on all around me.
Peace, todd
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