I'm Not Ready Yet

What a wonderful phrase. It is so liberating. If used correctly and honestly, it is not an attempt to shirk responsibility; it is a declaration of inadequacy - but that's not always a bad thing. While the phrase states you are incapable, it hides a very significant truth: you are preparing.

There is so much encompassed in one word: preparing. It states that you are not there yet. It annunciates your intentions of becoming ready at one point. It is a declaration of humility - of not being ashamed of imperfection. And most importantly it imparts a message of progress and growth, something we should always be striving for.

There is no reason to act when you are not ready. Think of all the pain that has occurred from those accepting posts that they are not ready for; pain that occurs from the failings of the unready or the pain that comes from the deprivation of the prepared.

There is nothing wrong with failing. Failure is just another way of saying we are stretching ourselves; but we should be doing to accomplish, not to feign. Our goal should be growth and progress, not creating elaborate facades that others can fawn over. Once we are honest with ourselves and care more about the building up of the world and less about the building up of our amour-propre, "I'm not ready yet" ceases to be an attempt of shirking responsibility and becomes an introspective declaration of where we are and what we wish to become.

It is a powerful phrase; it shows that you are aware of yourself and will not allow others to cajole you into ill-considered activities. It prevents the sadness and pain that occurs from having to rectify mistakes that could've been avoided with a little more preparation.

Obviously there are some things that we cannot fully prepare for; there are times when you must jump in with both feet, not knowing what to expect once you land. There is a fallacy in that: preparation does not equal readiness. Preparation does help one become ready, but perfect preparation does not mean perfect readiness. You can be ready even if you don't know what is around the next turn; you have prepared and you are ready to go one step at a time, and more importantly, are prepared to adapt to any unknowns you encounter.

Readiness to adapt is the greatest preparation anyone can achieve in this life.

And when you are not ready, that's fine, do what you can. I'm not ready to write a quality post, but I realized that inaction was a disservice to me. It was more important to write something flawed and imperfect than the practice and prepare in silence and emerge only to present perfection. There are some things that I can't do right now; but that doesn't deprive me of what I am currently capable of.

Line upon line, precept upon precept.


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