We feel a sense of accomplishment when we make plans for our future which we think are going to give us happiness. And we find huge relief once life starts unfolding according to those plans. We humans like to be in control. We like to guide our destiny. We like to plan for our future. We are the only species who does that. Most other living beings live for the present. We feel more comfortable when we know we have taken care of things for the future. When any element of uncertainty crops up – say a person is waiting for a court hearing, a student is waiting for results of the exam – we feel uncomfortable. Uncertainty usually means some form of discomfort or anxiety. We are not at ease until we know we have taken care of things both near-term as well as long-term.

When we start to accept uncertainty in life, it actually frees us up in a way. Instead of making us anxious, embracing uncertainty teaches us how to remain equanimous in any situation. We are not attached to one particular (desired) outcome.

The biggest uncertainty we all have to face is the life after death. We do not know what is going to happen to us after we die. We do have some control over it through our actions in this and previous lifetimes but still it is a big unknown. Even though we may have made perfect plans throughout our entire life but we lose all control after death. We are face-to-face with the unknown. Accepting uncertainty in everyday life is a great way of training our mind for life after death.