Here we are at the last of the Twelve Holy Nights. Tomorrow I will send a message about Epiphany, but for now we must look to another polarity.

I have chosen Certainty and Doubt as the closing couple. How do we marry Certainty and Doubt in our souls? For me these two are hopelessly and wonderfully intertwined in my soul.

Certainty comforts me. It tells me I am experiencing what is true. True for me in the moment.

Moment is my favorite measure of time. A moment can be indefinably brief or it can take forever depending on the thought, feeling or action that occupies it.

So Certainty is a feeling found in moments filled with truth, confidence and elegance.

Yet, I am wary of lasting Certainty and it’s comfort. Lasting Certainty seductively asks me to fly high like Icarus, forgetting that my wings are held together with wax and that the sun is hot. Let Certainty be momentary … and tempered by wisdom.

Wisdom in her wariness will ask questions of Certainty: How close can I fly to the sun before melting? Do I need a parachute? She knows the dangers of lasting Certainty. Answer her questions.

Doubt challenges me. It tells me that my reality, spiritual or earthly, is complex and fluid. Doubt gives me choices: I can float or drown. Yes, Doubt is watery.

I work to make friends with Doubt. I can float in our friendship. When I experience Doubt as an enemy, I sink to the bottomless bottom of my soul. Have a lasting friendship with Doubt. Be certain of Doubt.

Last, make balanced lovers of Certainty and Doubt. You want to marry them. Your soul is blessed by both of them. If we marry Certainty with Doubt, we gain an excellent pair of poles to move us forward in our growth and development. The marriage will be challenged by the presence of” right and wrong” or “arrogance and modesty.” Think of these pairs as warring in-laws. Keep them safely away from Certainty and Doubt.

Like all polarities, your soul may know one pole more than the other. Which pole are you more familiar with? Do you swim often with Doubt or go flying with Certainty? Are you afraid of flying? Did you ever learn how to float?

Confidence is what marries Certainty and Doubt and takes them safely flying and swimming in the realms of spirit and matter. Confidence is the supporting element that asks questions of Certainty and speaks statements to Doubt.

As you go through the year, celebrate both Certainty and Doubt. You will end the year much wiser than you are tonight.

Questions to Contemplate…

Give yourself permission to be both certain and doubtful for these exercises.

Make a list of twelve things about which you are certain. Make a spiritual list and an earthly list. Make a list of thoughts, feelings and results of deeds about which you are certain.

Choose a few and start writing down the doubts you would have if you weren’t certain. Pay attention.

Now make the list of doubts. What makes you certain of these doubts? How do these doubts serve you? If a particular doubt disappeared, what would your life look like?

Ask how doubtful you are of the items on your certain lists and how certain you are about those on your doubt lists. Notice the convergence.