Preparations

As we start to approach the end of summer and start transitioning into fall, you begin to notice things changing. I’m often drawn to watch the wildlife this time of year. The changes in their behavior, the little things they do here and there, the way they shift with the seasons. The migrating birds start to gather in larger groups and flocks to get ready for the long flight ahead, building the group until instinct tells them it’s time to go. The smaller animals, like squirrels and chipmunks, gather up their food stores, gather nesting materials, and finish their prep work for what could be a long winter ahead, knowing that their livelihood depends on the coming weeks. Larger animals, like deer, make sure they are up and moving more throughout the day to also build up the fat stores to keep warm and sustain them through the lean times to come. It all makes me think of all the different ways to prepare for the times ahead. The animals are all doing it on instinct, not necessarily having to think about it, but just doing it.

Humans, on the other hand, don’t always follow this path. We have built our lives around the convenience and comforts of the modern world. Generations ago, we too would follow the animals’ path. Gathering the crops as they got ready to be stored in the cellars and pantries to ensure there was food for the winter. Getting the house and areas around it sealed up and prepped. Wood chopped and stacked to age for the fires to cook with and keep warm. Planting the winter crops on time to ensure that they came in the next spring.

Preparation is an important part of everything in life, whether you think it is or not. You prep throughout the day even if you don’t realize it. Setting up the coffee pot the night before, packing lunch for you and maybe the family, making sure you have the clothing you need for the weather you are going to face. It’s not the preparation of old, but still preparation nonetheless. Now, you can’t prepare for everything. Life and people will always throw you little curveballs here and there as you move through it, but you can learn how to best handle these and how to best prepare yourself for the uncontrollable.

Unforeseen events that hit your life can be minor little things that may cause an annoyance or inconvenience, but the flip side is they can rattle your life at its foundation and shake you to your core. These are the hardest ones to prepare for. You can prep yourself all you want, but when they hit, you are never truly ready. Death, divorce, job loss, house fire, car crash, medical diagnosis—these are all events that can push you to the brink of losing yourself. No matter how you prepare yourself, they all take their toll and have their impact. You don’t know how you will truly react as they begin pulling on you and pulling up parts of you that you may not have even known were there.

What you can do to help prepare for many of these is to understand yourself. Look deep into yourself and truly understand who you are and where you came from. Knowing how you have handled past stressful situations, seeing, recognizing, and getting an understanding of the patterns you have run through in your life is a good way to start building a strong foundation to rebuild off of in the event that unforeseen tragedies happen. A solid foundation may crack here and there when the impact hits, but it will not crumble. Be true to who you are and make sure you are able to maintain that throughout all of it. Yes, these events will change you. They will cause you to rewire your thinking and, in some cases, your actions, but at your core, there is a true you. The person you truly are under all of it. This is something that often gets overlooked and pushed to the side with modern life. People are focused on what’s new, hip, and trendy and often lose sight of who they are and where they came from. I’m guilty of it. Most of us are. Much like the animals and the people of old, it’s about tapping back into the base of you—the instincts, the things that truly define who you are.

Can you prepare for all the eventualities in life? Not even close. Can you fully anticipate how the actions of others will affect you? Not always. But take a page from the squirrels. If you put in the work, listen to yourself, trust your instincts, and recognize the patterns of yourself and those around you, you are much better suited to be able to take the deep dive, build your foundation on who you truly are, and be ready for the road ahead. It comes with its own challenges, and you will oftentimes fight yourself, but that’s growth.

So, as summer turns to fall and fall into winter, think back on the road you have already walked. Look at who you were, who you are, and what the true and real you is as you take that next step to prepare for the next leg of your journey.