What does “Be Prepared” mean to you? Does it remind you of the Boy Scout motto? Be Prepared is commonly used in reference to, disaster, emergency or survival situations and we definitely need to be prepared for those events but we also need to be prepared for the synchronicity that we experience in everyday life. Often we become preoccupied with worrying about tomorrow or rushing towards something other than the all important now. When we are prepared to deal with whatever comes out of the void to us in the present moment, fear does not prompt us to run from change, just because we don’t fully understand it yet. When we are prepared, we are able to embrace change and integrate it in our journey and the fear that often comes with it is just a clue that we are probably on the right path. Nature and the present moment are constantly feeding us the stream of truth that we need to make the critical decisions in our lives, we just need to awaken to that flow. To be present and prepared as life unfolds, not worried about what we are going to miss out on, or whether someone else approves. To always do our best in life we need to be prepared, physically, mentally and spiritually.
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson
One of the teachings regarding evolution is that the strong survive and the weak perish, but that is inconsistent with nature. Being prepared means knowing when to change, when to let go, not cling to our outdated belief system, to have the awareness and the ability to change when the paradigm shifts. For most of my life I was a planner, constantly making lists and sketching out requirements to achieve success in whatever endeavor I was involved in. I rarely ever changed direction when the universe came knocking again and again, attempting to let me know I was on the wrong path or going the wrong direction. I just bulldozed ahead with a single minded blindness to complete the task as I had designed or envisioned it. Often fighting an impossible battle, making enemies instead of friends and while I succeeded a few times through pure determination, it would have been so much easier if I had just been more aware of what the present moment was telling me. It only took me a half dozen decades but I go slower now, with more awareness, it’s not a race, there is time to re-evaluate the journey in each moment.
In numerous spiritual teachings, being prepared is described as being alert, awake or aware. We need to be prepared to change the direction of our life when new information and inspiration are received, even when our ego desperately clings to the status quo, learned patterns and beliefs that divert us from our mission. Let’s wake up, get in touch with our body, our mind, our soul, nature and the cosmos, they provide all the information we need. Let’s “Be Prepared” to make our epic hero’s journey back home to spirit.