You don’t have to be clear: The right to the diffuse.
For the freedom of ambivalence, gaps and non-definitions.
For years I have boasted of being a determined person, putting something in my head and achieving it somehow is very easy and even satisfying. I cannot deny that this quality has brought me great benefits to tackle projects or even define them along the way. However, I was forgetting that much of that determination was from an utter state of indefiniteness, confusion, and doubt. The luxury of being confused, or going through the prelude of doubt or the impossibility of definition is something that not everyone can afford but that we should all accept at some point.
For these 4 reasons:
- There are no good decisions, only temporary affirmations.
I have always questioned why students who finish school in Peru have to decide immediately, in the best of cases, what they will study in the next five years. I think this is one of the great problems of education in general, which does not allow error, mistake and does not celebrate it but rather the sentence.
Issues such as vocation are presented as finite decisions when in reality I feel that they are the opposite for the simple reason that human beings change constantly and sometimes without realizing it.
The vocation seems more like a construction created by layers of our experiences in our life rather than something that defines us finitely.
2. The diffuse is more like a collage than a boring canvas.
Normally we understand the canvas as something empty where we can do what we want, however this does not happen in real life with any venture or project that we want to carry out, it is more like a collage that, based on intentions, delays and experiences, we form something that it can give us meaning to create something. In this sense, rather than being overwhelmed by that amount of resources, it is rather finding connections between them, without focusing on what we lack, but on how we complement what we have.
3. Powerful curiosity is born from doubt and confusion.
There is probably no more genuine energy for creativity than curiosity. It allows us to look for other perspectives on what we already have and even find spaces of opportunity in what is already known. Observing things, even those with great curiosity, gives us many new insights into the same phenomenon.
4. Error casts doubt on certainty
The purpose of error, of doubt, is to question certainties. As Lessing said “By possessing the truth, you kill the truth, the truth is sought, not possessed.” The value of the human being does not reside in the truth, but in the sincere effort to reach it, because the forces that increase his perfection are only applied through the search for the truth, not in its possession. Because possession makes you lazy and arrogant, it calms you down, it blinds you. It is not necessary to possess to obtain pleasure.
Undoubtedly taking advantage of the diffuse requires patience and also a certain predisposition and is often conditioned by our personality and individuality as people. However, it is still a skill that can be trained, so I am going to share some tools to get the most out of it.
The technique of What could happen?
It is a technique that my mother taught me in the darkest moments of my life where anxiety about the future and uncertainty did not leave me alone. It is about discovering the circle of life and death in the face of all the scenarios that arise from the following questions.
We start with, What is the best thing that could happen if I decide or do such a thing? The answer will create a scenario A, then we ask the same question again but now using scenario A, what is the best thing that could happen if scenario A occurs? and so on until we feel that we have exhausted all our imagination, the same with the question that is apparently opposite, What is the worst that could happen if I decide or do such a thing? . When you locate the circle of all possibilities, you will see that the decision or space you are in is not so serious after all.
The Multiple Perspectives Technique
Recognizing that any definition of perspective we make is a choice, and that as long as we maintain self-doubt about the ones we usually use, they can multiply and allow us to move into different perspectives without feelings of guilt. Drawing and putting all the options in front of us will cause you to generate more amount of perspective and will give you more freedom to move from one to another without much commitment and limitations.
In the event that you feel feelings of guilt, shame or any negative sensation, it would be good to review the list of beliefs that make this change in perspective so challenging for you. Many times, listing these beliefs or looking for them deep within one can give you many revelations, since sometimes we are only subject to a belief that does not really give us the necessary freedom but instead locks us in a way of being and seeing things.
Using the new perspectives that doubt gives you, gives you the freedom to change your perspective as many times as we see fit and will give us a broader and more enriching horizon as part of the search for truth. Try to locate all possible perspectives and changing them as many times as necessary can be a pleasant act. A generative technique that can even be used when you feel very confident in only one perspective.
Reality as a plasticine
Thinking of reality as a putty gives us the freedom to find and play with new forms of reality. This is an imaginative technique that can even be used with real plasticine. Playing with your hands and creating scenes with it can be something beautiful, not only because it connects with our most infantile and primal part, but also because it awakens our imagination to create the scenes that we deem convenient. The power of fuzzy is that it allows you to play with shapes without limitations beyond what you perceive to be fuzzy. In this sense, clarity is useless, and the diffuse becomes enriching as an experience.
Bibliography
Robert L. Leahy. (2003). Cognitive Therapy Techniques. A practitioner guide. p 132. New York, London: Guilford.
