Are you ready...?

Well… are you? “Ready for what?” you might ask. And that is a good question. In answer I would ask “Are you ready for the next step in your life and your spiritual evolution?”. You might answer “yes”, “almost”, “no”, “spiritual what?!!!”. There’s no right or wrong answer.
There is so much change and so many shifts going on at the moment that it’s often hard to keep track of where you are now, let alone where you’ve been or where you’re headed. This can leave you feeling disoriented and unsure of where you’re going, and most certainly if you’re ready to move forward. However, when you take a deep breath, and centre yourself in your heart, it’s there than you can find a bit of peace and stability. And it’s from there that you can choose what your next step (or steps) will be. It’s then that the question really arises “Am I ready?”.
From childhood, we are raised in ways that often teach us that we are not, and probably never will be good enough. I say this not in total criticism (although there are more helpful ways I think that we can help young people grow and evolve), but more in observation. Think about it. When you’re young you’re told things like:
Soon you’ll be big enough to go to school and lea

Then you’ll be big enough to go to college and get yourself some qualifications to give you a foundation and employers will begin to respect your hard workr
Then you’ll have enough to begin a career and progress and people will respect you a bit morer
Then you’ll be able to get married and have children and you’ll be a good role model for others and fit into societyr
Then you’ll be able to save enough money for your retirement and earn respect as a pillar of society

Do you see? Without meaning to, we’re teaching our younger ones that they’ll never really be good enough or respected unless they conform to these kind of ideals. I’m not saying don’t give people something to aim for. Indeed not. But it’s not all about “conforming and fitting in”. Indeed, you’re often told at school that you’re being prepared for “the big bad world”… and that if you don’t do well at school you’ll never have a career, earn enough, get married, have children, and save enough for retirement. Whose goals are these anyway?!
One big problem with this approach is that it often causes doubt in people about whether they are ready for the next step in their lives. There’s always “one more course to do”, or “x amount more money to save”, or “another year of experience to gain”… when does it stop? Can we really expect ourselves always to feel totally ready for the next challenge or step along our jou
ey? Can you honestly say that for every step you’ve taken in your life you felt totally prepared before you took it?
There are many things in life that we can never totally prepare ourselves for beforehand, such as living with a partner for the first time, having children, starting a new job, going on holiday, dealing with criticism from others, dealing with compliments from others (!). There are hundreds of things we do that we don’t spend ages preparing ourselves for, and yet we still expect ourselves to be fully prepared for everything.
Life is really about “learning along the way”. We get too caught up in thoughts around making mistakes, or not being good enough, or not doing things differently from others, and (the biggest one) I have to be perfect everything I do. All of these are a nonsense, but they feel very real when it comes to taking another step along our lifepath.
Now it may well be that, to be a carpenter requires training when you’re currently a nurse. No arguments there. But how many courses must a person attend before he/she feels ready to set up as a carpenter?
The point I’m driving at here is that there comes a point that, if we really want to achieve something, we need to take the plunge and stop dithering about whether we’re totally ready for it. Procrastination is the killer of life and evolution and causes much stagnation and depression in many people’s lives. It’s the song “Shoulda, woulda, coulda” and has a bitter taste to it.
Not everything needs constant preparation and sometimes we just need to take the plunge to see. At the end of the day, what’s the worst thing that can happen? Life is all about having experiences and, once we let go of the fears about “getting it wrong”, and “not being good enough”, having a go can be a whole heap of fun.
Let me ask you again: Are you ready for the next step in your life?

"Don’t wait. The time will never be just right". ~ Napoleon Hill