For what?
Before a child joins a school, be prepared – you need to know the alphabet and numbers, know how to answer questions – IF you want to get into a private school or any good school.
Once you are in school, be prepared – for your tests, so you can go to the next grade.
Secondary school – be even more prepared – get good grades in school, otherwise, your life will be a failure if you don’t get into one of the popular courses.
Adult life – be prepared – be good at your work, otherwise, you will lose your job and your life will be a mess.
This mentality of having to be prepared has made many people live life in a ‘panic mode’. Unless you are one of the care-free (aka enlightened) beings, most people live and do things in fear mode.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m one of them too and I like being prepared. Nothing wrong with that. My attention to detail and being prepared has got me to places that wouldn’t have been possible without those traits. Insurance is also a way of being prepared, which is a good one to follow.
But being prepared from a place of ‘fear’ is not good for your body and mind. How so?
Before travel, some people are anxious. “What if I didn’t take this or that? What if I forgot an extra pair of garments or a particular medicine?” We now live in a modern world and facilities are world-class wherever you travel, unless you go to a remote village. So, why does our brain get anxious?
Sometimes for the sake of getting everything right, we fear the unknown. Other times, it is a patterning from our childhood. Things we’ve grown up listening to – from our parents to teachers to friends and neighbours to television, we keep on with it in our adulthood – even though living conditions have improved and the world is a much safer place.
So what happens if we let loose? What if we embraced the unknown?
This is something I am exploring on a regular basis. Whenever my ‘monkey brain’ takes over and tries to run my life in ‘fear mode’, I pause, change my breathing and ask myself – “What is the worst that can happen?” If I truly stop and answer this question, it is nothing as fearful as what the monkey brain is telling me will happen. If I forget my meds while travelling, I’m sure I can purchase an equivalent wherever I am travelling to.
Familiarity can often keep us anxious and dreading situations that only happen inside our head.
It is OK to be prepared where you need to be prepared and OK to let loose in a lot of situations.
And I know this is easy said than done. But join me on this journey where we get curious about other ways of living, going on a path that is full of love 😍 and kindness to ourselves and others. Because when you make decisions from a place of love and not fear, your journey called life will be much more pleasant.
What are your thoughts on this? I would love to hear from you.
