Be Present

December 30th, 2024

The Boy Scouts got it wrong.

I know this because I was one. A terrible one, but still. I could see there was a problem with the core idea they insisted on instilling in us.

That motto of “Be Prepared.”

I have a secret to share with you: I have never been ready. For any of it.

I wasn’t ready when I drew my first picture. I wasn’t ready the first time I set foot on a stage. I wasn’t ready to fall in love. I wasn’t ready to have a child. I wasn’t ready to publish my first book. I wasn’t ready to lose my job. I wasn’t ready to lose my mom. I wasn’t ready to go back to school. I wasn’t ready to wake up this morning.

All of these things happened anyway.

There’s a constant reminder I get that the things I worry about are probably never going to happen, but the thing that does happen I will probably never worry about.

Life does not offer us rehearsal, as desperately as we wish that were true; that’s why I humbly petition the Scouts to adopt my better motto:

Be Present.

That’s all we can do.

I managed to get through this holiday season unscathed, which isn’t true of several people I know. Tragedy came for many in 2024, and it came for some just in the past month. They weren’t prepared for it, because nobody can be. A bundle of sticks and a matchbook won’t do shit.

The thing that usually works for me is being present.

Being here with those who are here with me. Being aware of the tiny kindnesses, which are huge in reminding us that the world isn’t all bad. Being open to a hug, for giving and receiving them.

If you feel like you weren’t prepared for this year, you aren’t alone. Being woefully unfit and under-equipped is the quintessential human experience. But try not to worry about what you didn’t do, and what you couldn’t do.

Just be here. Now. We’re glad to have you.