Menicus, a first century Chinese philosopher said;

“If Heaven is about to entrust an important mission to a man, it begins with filling his heart with bitterness and by confusing his powers of perception and overturning his plans. It forces him to exert bone and muscle. It forces him to endure hunger and all manner of suffering. When the man emerges triumphant over all these trials and tribulations, he is then capable of accomplishing what would have been impossible for him to do before.”

Preparation, be it for a journey or a life event, is a most important factor in the outcome. If we do not take the time to plan a route or prepare for a new endeavor in life the outcome may be quite far from the target.

Taking time to prepare the soul for what life throws at us is where I, and many others I encounter, struggle. We prepare the mind, or the body; we make plans, set goals and strike off toward our goal often times with the soul left to adapt to where we are taking it.

Why does the soul need preparation? How does one even go about preparing the soul?

For me it starts with prayer, for others meditation. I wish I were better at this as I still often leave the soul out of the equation, even knowing that such preparation is needed.

If you consider how much envisioning has become a part of sports this makes a lot of sense. Now, many will say that it is purely a mental effort. This, of course is where it starts, but the transition from mind to soul to body is what actually takes place if you really consider it.

We envision an outcome in our minds; this vision takes on an energy that permeates our being, infusing the soul, the heart to fuel our motivation; then the body moves enacting what we envisioned.

The soul must be given a chance to prepare, with its constant assault from the many other feelings and emotions that we subject ourselves to each day.

This is even truer given Menicus quote. Often times we are in a tumultuous place and Heaven is preparing us for that which we have yet to even envision. It is carving away the parts of us that are not needed for the journey ahead. It is honing the steel of our resolve so that we may be up to the task being prepared for us.

If you consider the tempering of a fine blade there is a process that the steel must go through before it is ready to be folded into a blade. A purification to remove the material not needed in the creation of something that will be put to difficult duty.

This process, back when blades and swords were made by hand for use on the field cannot be compared to todays manufactured process.

We have moved so fully from the process of preparation to the process of manufacturing that we have forgotten the value of preparation.

We no longer go from A to Z by touching each letter in-between; we simply jump from A to Z. Everything in between is just manufactured to get us to Z.

Taking the time to slow down and move through the process, in essence “becoming” rather than “being” is something that we are losing in our many advancements. Take the time to slow down. Make life more of a process and less of an outcome. Prepare and move through to action, making each movement a study in presence and precision, not simply a task to be done.

When we are present in our actions, involving Mind, Soul and Body life becomes more fulfilling and we find ourselves prepared for the task.