I came across a great phrase in a great book last week.
The book was from 1995: The Trivialization of God: The Dangerous Illusion of a Manageable Deity by Dr. Donald W. McCullough (an under-appreciated book and worth looking up).
In the book the author describes being lost on a rainy night in Edinburgh, Scotland - a city with which he had no familiarity to begin with. Having gone out alone he found himself without an umbrella or a raincoat in a late-night rainstorm. Convinced that he could find his place of lodging before getting soaked, he describes himself as setting off "with confidence bolstered by complete ignorance."
'Confidence bolstered by complete ignorance'
What a phrase - what an idea!
On the surface it sounds like the worst of a collection of bad ideas, but there are times when that kind of confidence is just what is needed to get us moving.
Many of us know the reality of "analysis paralysis" - the condition of being unable to begin because we cannot see how things will work out perfectly. To that degree, CBBCI can get us moving without waiting for all the answers - but it can also lead all the way to a brick wall.
That's what happened to the author, who got hopelessly turned around in a driving rain. Two thing saved him that night.
- A local who knew where he needed to go, and (just as importantly),
- His willingness to give up on the plan begun with only CBBCI and follow the new direction (directions, actually) offered by his rescuer.
Boldness - even badly informed boldness - coupled with humility & flexibility, can get us on the road and can even manage to get us somewhere.
