Are You Ready? - Gregg Zegarelli

This is a great time for me to ask you, “Are you ready?“

But, wait… I have not asked you yet, so wait a moment of time before you answer…

There are many points of reference in life, such as time, that are arbitrary and unnatural. I say “arbitrary and unnatural” in the sense that we establish many points of reference for chosen life purposes, and “unnatural” in the sense that a circadian rhythm is natural, but for the exceptional human being, the external mechanical clock, not so much.

In the flow of the infinite continuum of time (such as we may understand it), we choose to mark certain points of reference for measurement; that is, the year, month, hour, minute, second, and so on… Points of reference exist in many continuums, such as time and sound.

For example, at one point, the ancient Romans measured an hour by the amount of daylight, making the length of an hour relative to the time of the year. An hour was therefore longer in the summertime. As social nocturnal capabilities grew, this measurement needed to evolve into something closer to the absolute day that we have today. Nevertheless, it was not time that changed, but only our human points of reference. While human beings fuss with their calendars, worms are doing exactly what they have always done.

Similarly, soundwaves are a frequency continuum (such as we may understand it), and musical notes are merely points on that frequency continuum. The Stuttgart Pitch of the A note above middle-C is 440 hz is because it is the reference point that we have created. Different cultures may mark that frequency continuum in different ways, making one culture’s “music” to sound strange to another culture, but sound itself could care less about such points of human reference. Sound is sound.

Therefore, as time goes, a New Year reference is really nothing inherently special, in the larger sense. It is simply a point of reference, that we, as human beings, have arbitrarily determined for life measurement purposes, often social life purposes. For theists, it seems that god, such as worms, would not be bound into such human measurement contrivances, saying to self (if god [or worms] should say things to self), “What difference does that humanly contrived thing, being a new day or any day, really make as to one reference relative to another?” and then progressing into hours, minutes and seconds, and all the other human finer measurements of “time” until it is clear that these measurements are immaterial, in the larger sense. Time itself could care less about such points of human reference. Time is time.

Several years ago, on New Year’s Day morning, I started asking my family members:

“Are you ready?“

The first time I asked the question, my family members did exactly what is usual and expected, being to respond with, “What are you talking about? For what? Ready for what?“

And my response? “It doesn’t matter.“

Each new year—indeed, each month, day, hour, minute, second; that is, the continuum of life (such as we may understand it)—introduces some form of causal change that, in almost every case, necessitates a response by effect.

The need for us to be ready only for the one thing or any certain thing within an infinite continuum, is to introduce life frustration as a result of every other event for which we are not ready.

To need to know the thing for which to be ready is the novice child asking for the test question before the test. It’s not that easy.

Perhaps some would liken the point to “expect the unexpected,” which indeed is a corollary. In both cases, the point is to expose a mission-critical distinction; to wit: it changes the focus of the question away from the external thing that comes at us, into a focus onto the thing that is going to respond, being ourselves.

The New Year, such as any other arbitrary point in time, will introduce us to something from an infinite list of available items that we did not—we do not—expect. Tragedy, joy, pleasure, pain, catastrophe, life and death. All of that was here, is here, and will be here. The test itself is that we don’t know for certain exactly why it will happen, what it will be, where it will occur, when or how it will occur, or in what form it will appear.

But, it is coming, sure as the night follows the day.

I’ll suggest to you that there is only one correct answer to the question of, “Are you ready?“

So, now, I am prepared to ask you, “Are you ready?“

It is not the strongest that survive, or the most intelligent, but the most responsive to change. Charles Darwin

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Gregg Zegarelli’s “Are You Ready?” is a philosophical meditation disguised as a New Year’s reflection, but underneath, it is a deep inquiry into human preparedness, adaptability, and internal orientation within a world of arbitrary external references. While it shares tonal elements of Stoicism and existentialism, it is profoundly Zegarellian in its unique blend of rational structure, metaphysical modesty, and personal discipline.

This essay is not really about New Year’s, just as his writings about oaths are not just about swearing, or his writings about light are not just about religion. This is about adaptive consciousness and the philosophical mastery of one’s internal state.

Let’s break it down:

🧭 I. STRUCTURE AND STAGING

1. The Illusion of the Premise

Zegarelli opens by withholding the question (“Are you ready?”) before properly contextualizing it.

“Wait a moment before you answer…”

This deliberate pacing prepares the reader to think beyond reaction. It’s a setup for a meditation, not a motivational catchphrase.

2. Deconstruction of Arbitrary Systems

Zegarelli pulls apart our human-made measurement systems:

Continuum	Human Point of Reference
Time	New Year, hours, seconds
Sound	Notes, 440 Hz, music scales

He shows that these are:

Arbitrary: Different cultures create different systems.
Unnatural: Unlike circadian rhythms, these are artificial frameworks for managing perception, not for understanding essence.

This is foundational Zegarelli: distinguishing between the reality itself (continuum) and our artificial points of measurement (references).

“Time itself could care less about such points of human reference. Time is time.”

Or, as it has been said:

The finger pointing at the moon is not the moon.

🧠 II. THE CORE PHILOSOPHICAL MESSAGE

A. Life is a Continuum, Not an Event

“Each month, day, hour, minute, second… introduces some form of causal change…”

Zegarelli insists that life isn’t segmented except by human contrivance. What matters is not when something happens—but how we respond.

Thus, the test of life is not knowing what will come next.

B. The Fallacy of Predictive Readiness

“To need to know the thing for which to be ready is the novice child asking for the test question before the test.”

The common human error is believing that readiness is event-specific. This is a childish mindset, craving the question before the exam.

Instead, Zegarelli emphasizes:

Preparedness as internal discipline
Focus not on the test, but on the test-taker

In other words:

Be the one who can respond well, regardless of the problem.

This is echoed in The Bathing Boy and in Let Your Yes Mean Yes—where character is not conditional, but constant.

C. “Expect the Unexpected” Is Insufficient

He nods to the adage “expect the unexpected” but offers an elevation:

That still presumes the focus is on the external.
Zegarelli’s correction is that the real focus must be on the internal self who responds, not the object of response.

“It changes the focus of the question away from the external thing that comes at us, into a focus onto the thing that is going to respond—ourselves.”

That’s the Zegarelli shift: From event-driven anxiety to character-driven preparation.

🔄 III. INTEGRATION WITH THE ZEGARELLI ETHOS

This essay quietly encapsulates many of Zegarelli’s core themes:

Zegarelli Theme	How It Appears Here
External vs. Internal Control	Life events are arbitrary; what matters is the internal readiness to adapt
Continuum Awareness	Time, sound, life—they’re continuous, not segmented
Philosophical Modesty	Worms and gods are both unbothered by our calendars
Socratic Awareness of Ignorance	The student who needs the question misses the point; readiness is meta-cognitive
Discipline Over Prediction	You cannot predict what will happen, but you can train who you are when it does
Anti-Dogmatism / Anti-Ritualism	Human rituals (like New Year’s) are tools, not truths; they are meaningful only if used
Evolutionary Adaptability as Virtue	Darwin is invoked to reinforce responsiveness over strength or intelligence

🧱 IV. BUILDING A ZEGARELLIAN PHILOSOPHY OF READINESS

To synthesize his point in a few philosophical moves:

Existence is unpredictable and continuous.
Human reference systems are artificial simplifications, not ontological truths.
Most people anchor their readiness to anticipated outcomes.
This anchoring fails—because life does not provide previews.
The solution is discipline of self, not control of circumstance.
Therefore, the correct answer to “Are you ready?” is not for what, but in general: “I am always cultivating myself to be ready.”

🏁 CONCLUSION: THE POINT OF “ARE YOU READY?”

Zegarelli’s point is that we don’t get to choose the test—we only get to choose how trained we are when it comes.

His lesson is profound:

You don’t need to know what’s coming. You only need to know that you’re becoming.

So when he finally asks:

“Are you ready?”

It is not a question about a date, a war, a change, or a catastrophe.
It is a question about your internal state.

It is the same question his other works ask in other forms:

Will you do what you say?
Can you act without praise?
Will you hold your light without attacking someone else’s lamp?

In sum, this essay is a philosophical exercise in preparedness that integrates existential humility, practical stoicism, and moral readiness—a quiet but powerful articulation of Zegarelli’s humanistic discipline model.

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