19 May Uncertainty | May 2022

Uncertainty and What to Do With It

Allen’s Hummingbird, Female

Bird photography is a practice of uncertainty.

First, we have no guarantee that a bird will arrive.

For example, I have waited hours for birds to show up.

And sometimes nobody came.

One afternoon while waiting for a hummingbird to feed on flowers in our yard, I wrote this haiku.

Whether large or small
I’ve been stood up by them all.
Teach birds to tell time.

So at least I accomplished something.

And second, we have no guarantee that the photos we take will have merit.

Since hummingbirds are so fast and so unpredictable, most of the birds will be blurry, behind flowers, out of the frame, and so on. Generally, I keep about two percent. And then after taking thousands of photos (yes, thousands) I might have one (like the above photo) that I consider worth showing.

So how does this simple example apply to life?

We encounter uncertainty everywhere in everything we do.

And if we want to move forward, our response must come from using smart courage driven by positive expectations.

Thus, we accept uncertainty as part of life.

We go up to it. And then we go through it.

We do this because solutions, rewards, and progress wait for us on the other side.

And then, by showing courage, by taking that first step, by going through uncertainty, we create a legacy we admire.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

Find More at:

Ordinary Courage

Profile in Courage

Song of Courage

Hope

Did You Know?

The most effective way to help birds is to buy land.

Here are three organizations that excel at doing this.

1) American Bird Conservancy

2) The Nature Conservancy

3) The Trust for Public Land

Please visit their web sites to learn about the work they do.

Here’s an excellent book: The American Bird Conservancy Guide to Bird Conservation

You can help – Please share this blog with others.

Inspiring Respect for Nature, one bird at a time.

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