It's Not April Yet

February Week 4's Study Guide will come to you tomorrow (Sunday) as usual. But as long as you 're here...

Dear observant old souls,

Thanks for pointing out a prematurely published study guide post meant for April. Think of it as a sneak preview! All I can think of is that somebody out there must have needed this right now, and since it’s timeless, go ahead and give yourself a headstart. Otherwise, you’ll see it again first week of April. . (PS I unpublished it for the time being so if you can’t access it now, it will be sent to you at the scheduled time.) Thanks in advance for your high level of tolerance of imperfection and compassion.

As long as you’re here, however, I’d like to share something on a different topic I’m working on personally in the present moment.

So, speaking of the present moment. I’ve caught myself more often than I’d like to admit relitigating and yearning for a romanticized past and attempting (and failing) to game the future. So much for living in the present. Then I sought out a wise friend who is both firmly grounded in the present moment and fully cognizant of reality, including all the unknowns she’s facing and her lack of control over many circumstances. She knows what she wants but she holds it lightly and lets life flow.

I want that for myself so I asked her the secret. She said “My plan A is in the process of probably being blown, but I have a plan B that is suitable to my soul.” She told me of a tribe in a remote region of the world where she had lived many years ago, studying their ways. The tribe was under threat of encroachment from hostile elements who would destroy them. Their Plan B required fierce faith and a broader horizon than my Plan A would have ever imagined possible.

They were preparing longboats to send the old women and children into the unknown. The men and younger women stayed behind, preparing to fight—to the death if necessary. The reason they sent the children away was because they represented the future. The old women were there to tell the stories. When the time was right, however many generations it took, the essence of the tribe would have been kept alive to take root in a new life either in the original homeland or in diaspora.

What’s my Plan B—the one that is suitable for my soul? I am still in the midst of mourning my Plan A, but knowing that listening for my Plan B is something I am being called to do is enough for the present moment. It has to be because even in mourning, I am also feeling blessed to have such a friend.

What’s your Plan B—the one that is suitable for your soul?