even Before we set out on any endeavor we do our best to prepare for it. Whether it’s wrapping ourselves in a warm scarf for a stroll on a chilly afternoon or getting appropriate visas for a trip around the world, we need to be as ready as we can. But we also need to know that no matter how well-prepared we are, we can abruptly be thrown off-course by the unexpected. What if an extra guest shows up for dinner or we run out of gas? How do we prepare for what we don’t know will happen? That is an inward preparation and it’s the most important part of any planning. Plan if you must, but don’t be invested in the outcome; instead be thoroughly invested in the journey itself. Allow whatever comes to be part of the adventure. If you weren’t prepared for lost luggage or a missed connection, be more open to the unforeseen. Maybe you don’t plan for it to begin to snow heavily during your walk, but why not let it fill you with child-like rapture instead of distress? If you have a spat with your lover, and they abandon you, who’s to say that’s not a good thing? Or maybe you didn’t prepare to meet the love of your life during your trip around the world, but you ended up remaining in a country you hadn’t even planned on visiting. Be curious rather than intimidated by the unknown. Being fully prepared really means being flexible and interested. Find your way through a challenge you hadn’t prepared for by settling into the unchanging stillness of your heart, the stillness that reminds you of your center and your love for life, in all its frustrations, beauty, and awe. You can never be fully prepared for what happens outside yourself, but you can always be prepared inside yourself. You can always choose to meet what comes with grace, dignity, humor, love. That’s the essence of preparedness.
