Rooted in Uncertainty: Life Values as a Compass Through Change

Reflections on transitions, and finding clarity through life's most uncertain moments.

In recent months, many of my reflections have centered on a single, unavoidable theme: uncertainty. It has touched every part of my life—from moving to a new country and saying goodbye to loved ones, to witnessing the slow dissolution of an institution I once gave so much to.

These transitions, layered with grief, dislocation, and emotional upheaval, led me—naturally, inevitably—into deeper inner questioning. I found myself returning over and over to the rawness of not knowing. I turned to conversations, podcasts, and writings that explored uncertainty through creative, spiritual, and psychological lenses. Why are we so afraid of uncertainty? How do we live with it, not against it? These are not easy questions, especially when you're moving through your own personal storms.

And yet, within this deeply vulnerable space, I found something strangely anchoring: a return to essence. Freed from titles, roles, and outside validations, I found myself more exposed—but also more real. These were not moments of collapse, but also moments of becoming.

Reclaiming My Inner Compass

At the heart of this journey was a quiet but powerful call: to re-examine my life values—not as abstract ideas, but as tangible, guiding truths. Through long journaling sessions, walking meditations, and inner dialogue through art, I began to rediscover the values that feel most alive and necessary to me now. The ones that can hold me through the unknown.

Among them emerged five core values: health, equality, meaningful work, financial freedom, and friendship.

Through this period of transition, I became more deeply aware of what health truly means to me. It is no longer just the absence of illness or the presence of mental clarity—it is also the ability to stand up for myself, to speak out when something feels unjust, to honour my boundaries, and to not shrink in the presence of power. A recent and difficult experience in the workplace brought this lesson into sharp focus, reminding me how essential it is to protect our inner ground with courage and integrity.

As I reflected further, I saw how equality and meaningful work are woven tightly together in my life. They speak to my ongoing commitment to creating spaces where every voice is valued, where dignity is non-negotiable, and where systems of harm are not simply acknowledged, but actively transformed through care, creativity, and human connection.

In friendship, I found one of the deepest roots of my resilience. Friendship is my harbor—a space where I can be wholly myself, where tears are welcome alongside laughter, and where the quiet presence of someone who truly sees me becomes the most powerful balm in times of uncertainty.

And then there is financial freedom, which I’ve come to understand not as an end goal, but as the open space from which I can create more honestly, rest more fully, and make choices from a place of truth rather than fear. It is not about wealth for its own sake, but about reclaiming time, voice, and possibility—the raw materials of a life lived in alignment.

Living with the Unknown

While I don’t know what tomorrow holds, I do know that these values are my compass. In times of great uncertainty, they offer direction. When anxiety returns, or fear whispers its doubts, I can return to these truths—to what matters most.

I have come to believe that uncertainty isn’t something to escape, but something to meet with presence, with softness, and with self-trust. In its chaos, it often invites us back to the essence of who we are.

So I continue walking. I continue becoming.