As My Old Troupe Leader Used to Say... "Be Prepared"

A record-breaking heat has swathed America this July, and there’s no place hotter than the US Congress. All the political wrangling over the debt ceiling has left constituents right smack in the center of the crisis, glued to our televisions, checking for resolutions on the internet with still no word. The heat broke in Denver today, though as of yet there’s been no such luck in Washington. I took advantage of the relatively balmy temps to venture outside my air-conditioned office to visit with some potential clients; a listing and two home buyers. The seller is concerned about where their home value may (or may not) be headed, the buyers are worried job security: one a librarian, the other in the health & beauty industry, and of course that factors into their home buying scenarios. It has been tough out there in the virtual realty world and people are understandably nervous.
On my way home, I made my pilgrimage to Costco. Wandering around the aisles I noticed there were flats piled high with “emergency” items: stacks of powdered milk, eggs, mini-generators powered by the sun and ready to charge a cell phone, perhaps a Prius. I’m not much for the concept of living in fear, in fact I am mindful to release as much of it as possible in my daily meditation, but it was very clear to me how fearful we've become. And why shouldn't we be, after all? I tried to remember where it all began, this abject fear, and what had I learned in my life that had prepared me to get through it. *Lightening bolt* I had been a Girl Scout and I took that vow into my girlish heart.

On my honor, I will try:
To serve God and my country,
To help people at all times,
And to live by the Girl Scout Law.

As the thunder broke and the rain slapped down upon the Costco roof, it struck me that everyone seems to be preparing for different things…
• I’m prepared to make more (time), save more (money), give more (love) and spend less (time worrying).
• I’m prepared to take life as it comes without feeling the need to control all the crazy stuff that’s going on around me. It’s not like I ever could, but I’m not as tempted to try.
• I’m prepared to give myself as much credit for being who I am as others seem to give me. (The word fabulous does come up on occasion.)
• I’m prepared to work harder, be braver and dance along the edge of whatever my own little slice of greatness may be.
• And I’m ready to fall in love again… I think.

(Wow. I’ve gone all Pollyanna on myself, I didn’t see that coming.)
What I am not prepared to do is give up. I’m not prepared to live in fear of this life or of the world beyond. I may be afraid, sometimes petrified but I refuse to live in fear, no matter what the Congress does. Oh, and I will continue to cook beautiful things the bounty of my garden and freeze them to enjoy through the winter, but I will not hoard canned goods!
Now if you’ll all make an apple pie circle and join hands with me while we recite the Girl Scout Law…

I will do my best to be
honest and fair,
friendly and helpful,
considerate and caring,
courageous and strong, and
responsible for what I say and do,
and to
respect myself and others,
respect authority,
use resources wisely,
make the world a better place, and
be a sister to every Girl Scout.