What any Boy Scout knows......

One of my favorite memories as a  boy was the years I spent in scouting. It was a lot of fun but also taught me some things.
1. Be prepared.
People ask me all the time, "aren't you scared?" "Aren't you worried about what might happen?"
 My answer is always, "Nope".  Fear does not exist and worry is a waste of energy. Danger exist and we must be aware of that but fear is not real.
Worrying is a choice and eight or nine times out of ten what we worry about never happens.
Rule one in scouting taught me how to alleviate fear and worry by being prepared. 

My rule #1.
Every time a worry come into my head I ask myself this question, "ok, how can I prepare for that?" Then I do that. Sometimes it takes a long time to prepare but if I can't do it immediately, it goes on the to do list.

My rule #2.
Think of the worst case scenario and have a backup plan for that. As long as you have prepared an exit strategy you always have an out. Maybe not a great choice, but a way out.

People often tell me that I'm lucky because "at least you (me) can see the light at the end of the tunnel". I don't think of myself in a tunnel. I see myself on the path of life. I've been just trudging along on the well worn path heading for the typical eventual goal. There have been y's in my path. Occasionally I took one but most times not,  I just "stayed the course". This time there is no "y". I'm simply stepping off the defined path and starting a whole new path, into the unknown. Others have done it and survived, some even thrived. It's not scary to me it's exhilarating. I'm sure there will be new paths. Some heavily used, some lightly traveled. I most likely will travel some of those at times, but for the most part, be blazing my own new trail.

I am beginning a new phase in life. I'm very proud of some of the things I'm accomplished thus far, others not so much but those experiences brought me here. Where I go from here is the choice I'm faced with now.

I'm not "brave" or "courageous" or "crazy". I've just decided to spend this stage of my life trying new things, experiencing new adventures, and most of all having fun. Instead of the drudgery that comes from doing what I thought, I was "supposed to do".

Maybe I'm "supposed to do".......this.  Time will tell.