Live life like a Scout.

Way, way back in my formative years I was a Boy Scout.  I didn’t stay with the program very long.  In fact, I was only in Scouts for less than two years.  But, in that time I learned more about being a good citizen and l learned more valuable knowledge than I ever learned in school.

I learned and practiced teamwork.  I learned about nature, and how to survive in the wild.  But most importantly, I learned how to prepare myself for anything.

The Scout motto is simple and wise: Be prepared.

Being prepared doesn’t mean you have to prepare for a doomsday event and it doesn’t mean that you have to lay your clothes out on the floor each night, like a fireman, waiting for a four-alarm fire.  It means you should prepare your mind to accept and deal with anything that comes your way.

Now that I think of it, being prepared, is really a state of mind akin to Zen Buddhism…don’t fixate on thoughts or emotions.  Allow yourself to rely on your skills and instincts.  Let the world come to you and embrace it. 

This particular crisis, the one surrounding the covid-19 virus, is serious, to be sure.  But, the decisions we make and the actions we take shouldn’t be any different than any other moments in our lives.  We make decisions every day and we choose actions every day.  Every decision and action we have made in our lives has brought us to the place we are now.  All we have to do is see a clear path, in our mind, to guide us.

If you are wondering what that clear path might look like, take a look at the Scout Law:

A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.

If every decision we make aligns with the tenets of the Scout law, then we should make good decisions.