Certitude

Project Blog It

Freedom from doubt, especially in matters of faith or opinion; certainty.

In asking myself what I am certain of, I realized that the only true answer I can give is that there is very little of which I am certain. Certitude requires absolutes, and I’ve never been fond of absolutes. They pin you down, lock you in, and can limit you. I want freedom to be fluid in what I think, how I am, and what I believe.

And yet, certitude is one of those wiggly concepts, itself unpinnable. The minute I say I can’t be certain of anything, I realize there are in fact things that I am certain of. I’m certain that I love Thai food. I’m certain that I want to live in Europe at some point in my life. I’m certain that there’s value in being a decent human being. What I realize in making this list though, is that these certainties are time-specific. I am certain now that I love Thai food. I am not certain that I will always love Thai food. And so on.

So, if my certainty is time and context-specific, is it really certainty. Does certitude need to transcend any qualifiers to be certitude? I’m not sure.


Please check the blogs listed on the right for companion pieces to this week's prompt. Road Trip Girl will be posting late over the next couple of weeks as she is being true to her name and is currently on a road trip!

Next week’s prompt: movement