{"id":10489,"date":"2026-10-19T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/creeksideinspirations.ca\/?p=10489"},"modified":"2026-10-16T15:45:04","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T19:45:04","slug":"preparing-for-what-comes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/creeksideinspirations.ca\/de\/preparing-for-what-comes\/","title":{"rendered":"Preparing for What Comes: How to Balance Planning & Trust"},"content":{"rendered":"
Preparing for What Comes<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Finding Balance Between Planning and Trust<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are things I have learned to do before winter arrives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Making sure there is enough firewood for the coming season, perhaps even the next. Checking whether my daughter has outgrown her winter clothes. Protecting garden plants that aren’t quite suited to our growing zone. Taking care of things that are much easier now than when the ground is frozen, and the snow is deep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I grow older, I notice how much experience informs these decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I remember previous winters. What I needed, what I wished I had prepared earlier, and what turned out not to matter quite as much as I thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Much of this preparation has become second nature. It isn’t driven by a particular fear of winter. It comes from knowing that winter will arrive and that some things are simply easier to take care of beforehand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And still, no two winters are quite the same. There is always something we cannot anticipate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
The Squirrel and the Spruce Cones<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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In the northern forests, red squirrels are busy preparing long before winter arrives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They climb spruce trees, clip cones from the branches, and let them fall to the ground. Later, they gather the cones and store them in middens, often beneath the trees, where the cool, moist conditions help preserve the seeds inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These stores help sustain the squirrels through the long months when fresh food is less readily available.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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I find something remarkable about this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The squirrel cannot change the approaching season. It cannot persuade the spruce trees to continue producing cones throughout the winter. Nor can it know precisely how cold the coming months will be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it can make use of what is available now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a sense, its activity is shaped not only by present conditions but also by the seasonal changes ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And that is something we humans have learned to do, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We remember. We recognize patterns. We anticipate likely needs and make provisions while we still have the resources and opportunities to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Experience can become a form of foresight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
When Growth Is No Longer the Purpose<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
There is another aspect of the squirrel’s preparation that I find worth considering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During autumn, the squirrel may be exceptionally active. But all this activity serves a particular purpose: gathering resources that will sustain it through the seasons ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is not about producing more and more indefinitely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The forest itself offers countless examples of changing rhythms. Trees stop extending their branches and prepare their tissues for freezing temperatures. Some animals migrate. Others store food, grow thicker coats, or reduce their activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Different organisms respond differently, but none can simply ignore the conditions in which they live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This brings me to a question I have carried for many years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why do we expect continuous growth from our economies, organizations, and often ourselves?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
We tend to speak about economic growth as something that must continue, year after year. Businesses are encouraged to expand, improve productivity, increase output, and achieve more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And as individuals, we can absorb similar expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We should continually improve ourselves, advance our careers, develop new skills, become more productive, and make better use of our time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course, growth is not inherently a problem. It can create opportunities, improve living conditions, and support meaningful development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I wonder what happens when growth becomes an expectation rather than a response to actual needs and circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What happens when maintaining what we have, restoring depleted resources, or simply having enough is no longer recognized as progress?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A forest does not produce new growth at the same rate throughout the year. There are periods of expansion, maturation, preparation, and relative inactivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each has its place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perhaps we need a broader understanding of what it means to be doing well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One that includes not only growth and achievement, but also maintenance, recovery, resilience, and sufficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
When Is Preparation Enough?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Of course, there is a difference between a squirrel storing cones and a person planning for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Squirrels do not sit down to reflect on whether they have prepared enough or whether their efforts are motivated by anxiety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And perhaps this is where preparation becomes more complicated for us. Because once we begin thinking about the future, we can imagine almost endless possibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What if this happens? What if that doesn’t work out? What if I need more than I have? What if I overlook something important?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preparation, which initially helps us respond to uncertainty, can become an attempt to eliminate it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And there is no end to the things we might try to anticipate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More savings. More plans. More qualifications. More safeguards. More information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of these may be genuinely useful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But how do we distinguish what is reasonably needed from what we pursue because we are uncomfortable with not knowing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don’t think there is one answer that works for everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our resources, responsibilities, and circumstances differ. What feels sufficient to one person may be precarious for another. And sometimes, the challenge isn’t a lack of personal foresight, but the conditions in which people are expected to live or work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, I find it helpful to ask:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Am I preparing for something I reasonably expect to need, or am I trying to make an uncertain future feel certain?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
That question doesn’t always change what I do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it can change the place from which I act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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