Preparation may be ideal, it tends to not be available or to never end.
There is a moment in any decision when we leap, we choose to believe we have enough information, back-up or skill, or that the opportunity will vanish unless we engage then.
Leaping is a choice to act in spite of the unprepared feeling, to trust that we will land safely enough to keep progressing from there, that the lack of preparation is less threatening than the alternative of staying put.
All things change, occasionally to the point of disruption of our entire life. We then need to take definitive action and throw ourselves at the problem with everything we’ve got.
In the torment, we need to find our footing again, take control and achieve some form of balance that feels like us, something we can actually stand by, to let the experience make us who we are.
Progress is defined in relation to the past state, not in absolutes: Improvement does not mean going straight from wrong to perfect.
The better option rarely is the best option. It means accepting what is available as a step up, as a spring board to possibly another better option. It is the best option ‘for now’.
Embracing the available improvement over an ideal that may not materialise is the prudent choice, trust in humble steps over a grand resolution.
Whether something happens and forces us into action, or nothing happens and our resilience wears thin, the time comes when dramatic, radical change is in order.
Then nothing is comfortable. Between the growing pains, the uncertainty, the reluctance, and the niggling feeling we're choosing between two evils, we are all but settled.
However this discomfort is no longer a reason - or an excuse? - to wait any longer, the alternative is far worse.
Desperation and urgency can trick our compass. Then all that shines is gold, and all that’s strong is protective, and all that makes promises is a saving grace.
When circumstances blind us, we are prey to regrettable beliefs, such as being ‘forced to act’ or ‘anything is better than this’.
In hindsight, the clarity will mostly give us a measure of the price we are paying for that moment of fear.
So before we jump, can we honestly say we like our self in this undertaking?
Readiness is a state of heart, an inner conviction that may or not match the facts of our lives, the demands of our status or the development of our means and skills.
Sometimes an act of faith is about choosing to wait when everything tells us not to, to trust against evidence to the contrary, or to insist when the chips are down.
Then, our stance takes a different meaning, a commitment, a self-definition that speaks to destiny.
It is uncomfortable, that plunge in the deep end.
We stand exposed, vulnerable, the old comforts and the old armours are now ineffectual. Within that vulnerable acceptance lies a new strength, one that lets us be seen and make the best of our circumstances.
A leap is a decision we cannot take back. Words we can't unsay, contracts we can't unsign, mixing we can't unmingle.
Once we've made it, playing the part resentfully or half heartedly may seem honest or warranted, but it just means a double sanction - one for taking a premature decision, and one for carrying the shame and cost of it.
Once the leap is made, it needs to be embraced, or nothing can come out of it.
The Marrying Maiden
Little sister’s marriage
Marrying Younger Sister