PREPARATION

"We receive today what we prepared for yesterday." — Jonas Cain

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​You are exactly where you should be considering everything you've done leading up to this moment.

For example, these past several months I've been running a three-mile loop around my neighborhood four days a week. Every week. Consistently. Even on days when I really didn't feel like it.

I do this not so much because I enjoy running. Rather, because it's in preparation for climbing the White Mountains in New Hampshire, which has become my weekend activity of choice lately. It takes considerable more effort to trek up a mountain than running around the city, but the cardio does do well to prepare my muscles and lungs for the "real thing."

And yet, I don't climb the White Mountains on the weekends so much because I enjoy it. Rather, because it's in preparation for a major climb up the highest peak in Mexico, the 18,000 foot Pico de Orizba. This will be by far the most physically challenging experience of my life, and will take considerable more effort than a comparative "jaunt" through the White Mountains, but these weekend excursions do well to prepare me both physically and mentally for the "real thing."

And yet, I don't want to climb Pica de Orizaba so much for the joy of it. Rather, because of what the climb represents. I'll be climbing with the compassionate people with Climb For Hope who guide teams of people up mountains to raise money for immunotherapy research, a form of therapy that alleviates the suffering of people with MS and some forms of cancer. I may only one person, but by volunteering to climb with these amazing people, I'm doing what I can to help make the world a better place, one step at a time.

Why am I telling you all of this? It's because we receive today what we prepared for yesterday. I won't be able to climb mountains if I fail to run around the city. I won't be able to climb the highest mountains if I don't first prepare by climbing smaller mountains. And I won't be able to do the work that I'm called to do to help make the world a better place if I don't align myself with like-minded allies. 

Remember, you are exactly where you should be considering everything you did yesterday and every other day leading up to this moment. Your circumstances are the direct result of a series of choices, whether chosen mindfully or not.

Reflection​
What are your actions today preparing you for tomorrow?