Wanting certainty

Johnny's always running around
Trying to find certainty
He needs all the world to confirm
That he ain't lonely
Mary counts the walls
Knows he tires easily

Johnny thinks the world would be right
If it could find truth for him
Mary says he changes his mind
More than a woman
But she made her bet
Even though the chance was slim

Johnny says he's willing to learn it
When he decides he's a fool
Johnny says he'll live anywhere
When he has time to
Mary combs her hair
Says she should be used to it

Mary always hedges her bets
She never knows what to think
She says that he still acts like he's
Being discovered
Scared that he'll get caught
Without a second thought

Johnny thinks he's wasting his prayers
Trying to make sense to her
Mary says he's lacking a real
Sense of proportion
So she combs her hair
Knows he tires easily

Johnny's always running around
Trying to find certainty
He needs all the world to confirm
That he ain't lonely
Mary counts the walls
Says he should be used to it


The above is a Robert Palmer song that an ex girlfriend used to sing to me.

The quest for certainty is a peculiar thing. It's at the core of conservatism, and of the need for order. Yet uncertainty is where the real action is, isn't it? There's a book I read by Alan Watts a few years back called The Wisdom of Uncertainty, that looked at the whole business of how important uncertainty is, and that certainty really is something we only think we desire.

After all, how boring and weird would the world be if we had absolute certainty in our lives?

In that respect, facing our fears, and going into the unknown, is really what life simply HAS to be about.

The mystery is what we live for. Ironically, that's the only healthy certainty we can embrace.