Here in New England, we just finished an amazing day on Saturday preparing for an incoming hurricane to arrive sometime during the night or on Sunday morning. Outdoor furniture was brought in, boats taken out of the water, and food shopping done for the weekend.
As we canvassed the neighbors Saturday afternoon to speak to those who have lived here and have been through a hurricane before it was clear no one was leaving. Police suggested we go but more for fear that we could not get out of the area due to the beach road and the causeway being blocked by surges rather than our being flooded. We had enough to be stranded for days and live quite comfortably so we stayed as well.
How many times have you been told to prepare for the worst only to find that the equivalent of only a bit of rain fell with no consequence at all? How many times have you panicked when an unexpected or unwanted situation was to possibly arrive? How frequently have you gone into reaction while listening to the fear of others without first checking into your own inner knowing?
We asked more experienced folks what their experiences were. We prepared for the worst while recognizing we had no idea what we would be dealing with until it actually arrived, knowing whatever it was we would be OK. No place is perfect or completely safe. No response is perfect for all situations…
Yet in having qualified mentors, great support in place, and trusting your ability to respond rather than react, while avoiding those who find drama addictive, it is amazing how uncomplicated things can become. Simply recognizing that you have done everything you could do to prepare, sounds so much like getting married, starting a business, retiring, making a move across country, or even to another part of town.
At some point, you trust yourself and jump into your next decision, your next step. No one moves with absolute certainty into new adventures, You have preparation, hope, and faith it will work and a willingness to do whatever is needed.
Life is like that. An adventure you prepare for yet know you are jumping in blind since who knows if your experience will be absolutely and wonderfully unique or simply require amazing growth you had never anticipated. Either way, it is an adventure and one only you can take, your way. As a pessimist, an optimist, in faith, in despair, or as a continuation of an adventure you started years ago.
I say prepare, have people you can call, have faith in your instincts and yourself, and then jump into the next adventure. Whatever it is. Growth and excitement can be found anywhere and in my world humor and faith are never far away.
