John Keats and The Art of Uncertainty | The Art of Being Human, Ep. 3

What if not knowing is part of being human, and even a beautiful place to be? In a December 1817 letter to his brothers, the poet John Keats named a quality he called Negative Capability: being "capable of being in uncertainties, Mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact & reason." Deanna and Lily read the letter and talk about what it looks like to stay present in the unknown instead of rushing to fix it. In this episode: • What Keats meant by Negative Capability • The seed that hasn't sprouted yet: why the unknown can be beautiful • When you can't fix it, where do you put your energy? • How an explanation can limit understanding • Real learning versus being told the answer Keats was 22 when he wrote this. More than 200 years later, it's still one of the most useful ideas for a layoff, a diagnosis, a creative block, or any season when the answer isn't coming yet. Read the letter: https://humanym.com/letters/keats-to-... Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts: https://humanym.com/podcast The Art of Being Human: a Humanym Podcast. In the Lost Art series, co-hosts Deanna and Lily read historical letters that reveal a particular human skill, and talk about where that skill comes from and how it grows in us: how to think more clearly, live more completely, and connect more deeply. Come join the conversation; you may walk away with more empathy for yourself and your own experiences. Continue the conversation at https://humanym.com or download the Humanym app: a quiet place to reflect and connect with other real humans, where the letter you write is matched with someone who may just totally get you. Write. Match. Connect. Music: Rijko / You're Juliet (Indie Pop Version) / Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com #JohnKeats #NegativeCapability #Uncertainty #Poetry #Creativity #HumanSkills #Humanym