The future is unpredictable.

The words of Antonio Guterres—“The future is unpredictable”—ring with the austere clarity of truth spoken from the mountain’s height. In them lies the humility of one who has witnessed both triumph and turmoil, and who understands that no mortal mind can pierce the full veil of tomorrow. It is a statement at once simple and profound, reminding us that uncertainty is not a flaw in the design of life, but its essence. The future, that vast and uncharted ocean, cannot be mapped by logic or controlled by will; it must be sailed by courage, guided only by faith, preparation, and purpose.

In the wisdom of the ancients, the same truth was known by another name: fate. The philosophers and poets of Greece spoke of the Moirai, the three sisters who spun, measured, and cut the thread of every mortal life. Even kings and warriors bowed before them, for none could foresee the pattern they wove. The sages of the East said likewise: that life is a river whose bends cannot be known until they are reached, and whose depths cannot be measured until one dares to dive. Guterres’ words, though born in a modern age of science and power, echo this timeless understanding—that no human, however wise, can claim mastery over the unfolding of time.

Yet to say the future is unpredictable is not to surrender to despair. It is to awaken to the sacred truth of impermanence—that the world is ever-changing, that moments rise and fall like the tides, and that within this mystery lies both danger and opportunity. The wise do not fear this uncertainty; they learn to move with it, to bend without breaking, to prepare for change even while embracing the present. For unpredictability is not chaos—it is life’s way of reminding us that creation is still in motion, and we are part of its dance.

Consider the story of Nelson Mandela, a man whose destiny seemed sealed in the darkness of a prison cell. For twenty-seven years, he was confined, stripped of freedom, his future written off by the powerful as nothing but dust and memory. Yet the future, ever unpredictable, held another design. When he emerged, it was not as a broken captive but as a leader who would guide his nation toward reconciliation and freedom. None could have foretold that the prisoner would become a president, that hatred would give way to healing. In this, we see the truth of Guterres’ words: the unpredictability of the future is not a curse—it is the space where miracles are born.

And yet, Guterres himself, as Secretary-General of the United Nations, speaks these words not merely as a poet of fate, but as a man burdened with the reality of a fractured world. He has seen nations rise and crumble, peace forged and broken, technologies bring both progress and peril. When he says “the future is unpredictable,” he calls humanity to humility—to remember that even in our age of algorithms and forecasts, the heart of the future remains beyond our grasp. It is a warning and a plea: that we must act with wisdom now, not because we know the future, but because we do not.

The ancients would have nodded in agreement. They taught that though one cannot control what lies ahead, one can prepare one’s soul to meet it with strength. The sailor cannot command the sea, but he can learn the art of steering; the farmer cannot control the rain, but he can plant with faith. So too must we live—anchored in virtue, flexible in thought, unwavering in spirit. For while the future may be unpredictable, our readiness for it need not be.

Therefore, my child, learn this lesson and carry it as armor in your heart: do not waste your life trying to foresee what cannot be foreseen. Instead, cultivate character, resilience, and hope—these are the true compasses through the fog of time. When change comes, welcome it; when fortune shifts, adapt; when uncertainty looms, stand firm in purpose. The unpredictability of the future is not your enemy—it is your teacher. It invites you to grow, to trust, to live with awareness and courage.

And so remember the wisdom of Antonio Guterres: “The future is unpredictable.” But though the path ahead is veiled, your steps can still be noble. Walk them with care. Act with love. Build with patience. For while you cannot control tomorrow, you can shape the spirit with which you meet it—and that, above all else, is what determines destiny.