October 22, 2014, TGIW: Unhumping Hump Day

“Be Prepared… the meaning of the motto is that a scout must prepare himself by previous thinking out and practicing how to act on any accident or emergency so that he is never taken by surprise.” –Robert Baden-Powell

My son was a scout for 12 years, all the way through school. We reminded the boys of this simple motto often: “Be Prepared.”

As described above by the founder of Scouting, Lord Baden-Powell, it sounds like preparation is for what “bad” thing might come…so as to be able to deal with it effectively when and if it does.

That’s prudent, and yet we can also all identify people in our lives (or ourselves??) who operate this way in a not-necessarily-prudent way. That non-prudent way has a lot of names: worry, anxiety, negativity, expecting the worst, waiting for the next shoe to drop, etc.

Yet, have you noticed that what you put your mind on you get more of?

What about preparing a place in our mind, emotions, and even physical presence for that which we actually want to happen, vs. what could happen?

I once heard a story of how Della Reese, the acclaimed actor and minister, prepared for love to enter her life. She added an extra place setting at her dinner table and slept on one side of her bed so that there was ample space on the other side for her love to show up. I heard she would even say “Goodnight Dear” to that pillow beside her…and kiss it!

It may all be a vicious rumor…and yet it says something about preparing a place for our dreams to occur. After all, how can anything new, different or even “answered prayer” show up if our mental, emotional and spiritual bodies are already filled up?

What if, like the Good-Seeking Life-Scouts that we all are, we prepare ourselves “by previous thinking out and practicing how to act on any” degree of unexpected Good that comes into our day, life, world?

Where can you build into your mind, for several minutes a day, an image of your dream (job, career, love, future, etc.) actually being real and happening, right now? How can you set up your physical and emotional homes with some space for it to actually enter?

The Universe loves a vacuum. What old attitudes or “stuff” can you let go of to allow something else to take its place?

Got prepared place?

“The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.” –Malcolm X