Ready or Not

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Ready or Not


When you think about the 98 pound weakling on the beach, you may be picturing me in high school. I didn’t weigh 98 pounds, but tipping the scale at barely 130 pounds isn’t much different. I used to lie on my license and say I weighed 140 pounds, but that was only a distant dream. My metabolism was crazy, so I could eat anything I wanted and not worry about gaining weight.

I had accepted the fact I wouldn’t get buffed up, but remember this was back in the day when I could also do backflips. Accepting where we are in life doesn’t mean there can’t be changes in the future. I eventually did have a change in my metabolism, and was able to gain weight. People laugh at me sometimes when I tell them I like being fat; but I’ve been skinny and I like fat better. There is an example of what acceptance can do when it’s a part of your life. I accept the fact I’m fat now, but again, that doesn’t mean I can’t change that in my future if I want to. We’ll see what happens, but it’s nice to be able to be comfortable in my own skin. Are you comfortable with yourself?

The flip side of acceptance has to do with others who accept us as we are. I hope you belong to a group which accepts you as you are, but can also hold space for your future as you change into the person you will become. Having this kind of unity can do amazing things. Opening up the possibility of change while accepting things as they are can produce a kind of productivity and potentiality where almost anything is possible.

Can we love people as they are and accept them later as they change? It happens all the time, and a sad reminder is my wedding picture my wife decided to recently install on the mantelpiece. Let’s just say I’m not the same person I was 33 years ago, and my wife still loves me. It may be true she loves me more, since there is more of me to love. She has also changed, and the journey we have experience together has been extraordinary. But it’s also true we couldn’t have jumped from the past to this point in our life without the intervening years.
There is a peace that comes with accepting things as they are, but still holding the possibilities for change in the future. It’s one of the reasons we get a day at a time to try to get it right. Who knows what tomorrow holds? It may be one of weakness and pain; it may be a time of strength and happiness. This is why it’s exciting each day to wake up and see what this day will bring.

What expectations do you hold for your future? Do you want to see changes in your life, but can still be satisfied with the way things are at this moment? Remember, dissatisfaction with today doesn’t lead to a better tomorrow. Learning how to endure the bad times gives us the strength to enjoy the good times later. It does seem like a strange contradiction, but we can’t let problems today stand in the way of enjoying this minute. That also means we have to stick around to enjoy the fruits of today’s labors. It is a confusing way to live, but I can’t think of a better way to spend our lives. Enjoy today, work for a better tomorrow; be satisfied with whatever outcome we get.

It’s like the ancient story of the man who has a strong healthy son. Is this a good thing? Perhaps, says the father. This son was required to report to the emperor for service in the army. Is it a bad thing? Perhaps, says the father. When the son breaks a leg, is it a good thing? Perhaps says the father.

You can see where the argument goes. What is good and bad? Does it depend on who it affects and who is not involved? Or do we learn to live this life to its fullest, and work hard to make tomorrow better? The only alternative is to be negative, to attack, or to give up. Isn’t it time to turn from the posture of scarcity and limits? I’m tired of the whining, and I hope you are too. I am ready to get focused and positive, and to celebrate the abundance present all around us. Consider the future without worrying, but instead full of optimism. Picture a future with solutions, with positive results based on what we can all accomplish together, working in unity.

Celebrate the abundance. Get ready, here comes the future, whether we are ready or not.