The motto of every scout is “Be Prepared,” which even non-scouts are now familiar with. However, this motto always makes me question myself: What does it mean to be prepared?
Does it mean I have to be ready to do something every second? But what is “something”? A few days ago, when my parents were visiting us, my father showed me a very good example. We were dining out. It was a beautiful sunny evening, and we were on the terrace of a local brewery. The drinks had already been served, and the food was ordered. The smell of a wood grill was in the air, but soon, a sharp odor mixed in. It smelled as if someone was trying to burn plastic.
The beer garden was PACKED! So packed that people were leaving because there was no room. Everyone could smell it; you could see it on their faces. After the first black smoke was visible, my father immediately sprang into action and took me with him. We knew something was wrong when black smoke started rising in a newly built area. In short: A bush in the garden of a nearby house had caught fire, and the privacy screen to the neighbor’s yard was also burning.
My motto is “Be Prepared,” and yet I hesitated for a moment. Was I not prepared? Or was I prepared for something else?
Note: This post was started in the summer of 2019 but only recently completed in english for this blog
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