Monday Mindfulness Minute: Trying to Live a Dead Certain Life is Dead

“But to take the gamble out of the game, to try to make winning a dead certainty, is to achieve a certainty which is indeed dead.” The Book on the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are

March is one of my favorite months because of the NCAA basketball tournaments. This time of the year is aptly named March Madness because of the variability of the games and the uncertainty of which teams will advance. Madness here is almost synonymous with enjoyment because the more uncertain the tournament is the more fun it is for us to watch.

While all of the top seeds advanced to the Final Four this year, there was still a fair share of upsets along the way, with most of the top teams being pushed to the edge of defeat at least once. The general uncertainty is why millions of people continue to tune in each year and why it has become a "cash cow" for the NCAA.

The same holds true for movies, TV dramas, and other sports; their greatness lies in their ability to leave us on the edge of our seats because of the accompanied chaos of not knowing the ending. How many good movies have been ruined by reading the associated Wikipedia before or by a friend spoiling the twist? Is the main character really going to die? Is the underdog going to make a miraculous run to the Championship Game?

Would we actually watch and fully enjoy the show/sport/movie if the ending was a foregone conclusion or too predictable? Absolutely not. Yet, it seems that a foregone conclusion life is exactly what we chase day after day. Why is it so difficult to enjoy the twists and turns of everyday life when that's what we seek in "reality" TV and other forms of entertainment (I'm not preaching to you, I'm preaching to myself)?

It is within our power to approach the uncertainty in our lives with the same enjoyment and suspense that we seek in "reality" TV and sports. I know at times it feels like we could finally enjoy life if we could just get the script and know how it's going to turn out, but we know in the back of our heads that we would be bored with that and would then give anything to have a single twist or turn. Similar to riding a rollercoaster, we can either try to enjoy the chaotic coaster of life with our hands raised, or we can clench our fists on the lap bar and scream for our lives until the ride is over.