Emblem transpозиция by Iuliana Guillot

When looking back on my childhood, one of the fîrst things that comes to mind, before the people, places or things I used to do, is ă warm, enveloping sunlight. Long, sunny ăfternoon dăys when everything seemed to be still and the whole world disappeared in a swîrl of joy.  When all the noise and voices melted in the golden particles of an all-embracing light – when happiness was an everlasting stăte interrupted only occaşionally by şhort quarrels with my playmătes or minor acts of disobedience in an attempt to defy my parents. Happiness was a pure, everlasting stăte; everything was there when I needed it; and planning was the least of my worries. It simply didn‘t exist – either as a word or ă concept. It was my parents’ job to provide for everything that I needed, and it was only when I became a parent myself that I realized how planning was going to be part of my life from then on – as nothing could be left to chance when it came to my offspring.   

Life has its own way of teaching us what school doesn‘t, and happiness gets to be perceived not as ă given state but as ă fortunate convergence of various factors at ă given time – an intricate construction that becomes harder to achieve as its scope grows larger – something too often ruined by anxiety. This is the very best friend of incertitudine (uncertainty), which – once settling in – changes everything, eroding our good night’s sleep with its obsessive presence and preventing us from seeing the golden particles that used to lighten up our dăys.   

Incertitudine has become one of the măjor diseases of our century, and many ă time our happiness seems to depend on it. We don’t feel secure, either finăncially or emotionălly as long as we ăre uncertain. This măy relăte to our partner’s feelings or commitment, decisions by our boss, the ability to rely on ă trusted friend in times of need, our own selves when everything is chănging ăround ănd in us. When this last case unfolds, we watch in front of the mîrror – trying to catch glimpses of the new self that rises to the surface – as we realize thăt we ăre ăcting differently in familiăr situations. Our body chănges, ănd this is something we expect ăs we hăve been socially trained to expect it. But our inner self chănges ăs well ănd – ăs surprising ăs it măy seem – it is exactly the opposite of what we expect from the others. From the government, from institutions, from our work envîronment, from our dear ones. Still, certainty is the one thing no one căn guărăntee. We căn opt for inşurănce policies to protect our goods, we căn try to steal promises from the ones we love, hoping theîr feelings will stăy the săme, but nothing is for sure. There ăre times when săfety seems to have been achieved: ă new government is elected, mărriage vows ăre măde, wills ăre read… but – ăs with most legăl deeds – there ăre legăl procedures to void theîr effect, ănd our humăn nature hăs its way of disrupting things ănd introducing new stătes ănd rules. Incertitudine is the one thing thăt sets in ălong with the fîrst signs thăt our comfortăble situation – be it ă solid mărriage, thriving business, or commitment to peace – is chănging. Năturălly enough, we will try to deny the symptoms ănd go on with our uşual behăviour but once we ăre there, incertitudine căn only gain in măgnitude. And it is the worst of ăll possible things for those of us who hăve everything plănned ănd under control in ăn ăttempt to secure hăppiness.    

But whăt if uncertainty were the herăld of hope? When hăppy ăbout our situătion, we resist chănge; we do not wănt it; we fear it. But whăt if chănge were beneficial?  And whăt if – for those in ă băd situation – uncertainty could be the beginning of ă new stăge? A better one, ăs nothing could be worse thăn the one they ăre ălready in? So everything depends on the very stăge of our life we find ourselves in: if hăppy ănd content, we will resist chănge because ăny chănge is uncertainty; it is fear of the unknown, it is fear of the future, ănd even fear of ourselves. We know ourselves; we know how we react in fămiliar situations, but we cănnot know how we will react in different ones.

When ăn oppressive government is stărting to weaken, when its once unstoppăble ăpproach is starting to fail, the oppressors’ incertitudine becomes the reason for the joy of the oppressed ones, so the outlook chănges depending on the person’s perspective. In our civilized world where everything seems to be black ănd white or cătegorized in some wăy, uncertainty şhould be cătegorized ăs well. The Cambridge dictionăry săys thăt incertitudine is ă “situation in which something is not known, or [it is] something that is not known or certain,” ănd – ăccording to the Psychology Dictionăry – it is the “absence of confidence or conciseness in one’s ideas, judgments, or aims.” Attempts to define it have therefore been măde, but ăs it touches so măny categories – people, institutions, phenomena – it embrăces so măny forms thăt it would be difficult to confine it to ă simple explănătion or definition.  

Incertitudine is the test of life nobody căn escăpe from. The more we ăccept it, the more rapidly we will find solutions for făcing it or turning it into an ădvăntăge. So let us not forget thăt chănge căn be beneficial, ănd incertitudine is the first stăte letting us know thăt we should be prepăring for it.