On Planning and Living

Back when I was a young, there was a popular new Age-y poet named Sark who wrote poems that always started with, “If I had my life to live over, I would…” While I don’t remember all of the words in the poems, I do recall she desired to live more and think and plan less. She wanted to travel without a clear plan of where she was going and how she would get there. She wanted to pack last minute and not think about umbrellas and which shoes will go with what. She wanted to walk in the rain and not fret over getting wet. You get the idea. Less planning and worrying, and more doing. Developing faith in life itself, and in so developing faith also in herself and her ability to get herself out of any “jam” life might throw at her.

I grew up in a home where my parents planned for most exigencies and avoided unnecessary risks. As children of immigrants with kids of their own, of course it logically made sense that comfort and sense guided decision-making over discovery, fun or whim. So Sark’s way of looking at how to live a life seemed a lot more interesting to my young 15 year old seeking self.

The communities I was part of in my academic life were free-spirited intellectuals. Disciplined in scholastics but always up for fun, adventure and travel to remote regions of the world. And the yogis I am now surrounded by.. well, yoga “invented” the ethos under which Sark was seeking to live in. Yogis I know pick up and move, change relationships, class schedule or jobs, or pack their bags for travel at a moments notice.

Living completely in the moment with no thought or care for the future sounds ideal. Until the future comes. If we had no savings, no plans for the future or possible things that could go wrong, our beautiful lives could get pretty rocky pretty fast. Even in the socialist Democracy that is Germany, my current home. If instead, we live our lives considering every possible bad outcome, we would be pretty stressed and unhappy most of the time. That ain’t good either.

Most things aren’t black and white, but shades of grey and filled with nuance. :)

There is an old adage, "expect the best, but plan for the worst.” I pretty much follow this, but with a heavy emphasis on expecting the best. I generally assume that everything will be okay. That I will be okay. That life itself will support and take care of me. But I also gotta plan for when things don’t work out like I would have liked. It minimizes the suffering I create for myself when life has different plans for me than my own plans for myself.

That was a long and short way of saying, I made some plans for the Fall, even though I hope and expect the best for the physical, psychological and economic health of my community. It looks like, come fall, our time may be spent again more indoors, as we focus on keeping our communities and ourselves safe and healthy from this terrible virus. So we best make the best of it. Thank our yesterdays for their lessons and be better prepared for how we spend this next part of our lives (together I hope).

I planned a short weekend-ish getaway nearby September 3, and am also bringing back my health coaching course due to popular demand. :) Check it below.