Plans? Why Bother?
Rocky Path
“Nothing ever turns out the way you planned. Ever.”
This is a quote from one of my favorite meditation teachers, Pema Chodron. Sometimes she says things that really irritate me. But she’s right. I’ve recently realized that no matter how carefully I plan something, no matter how detailed I make my dreams, and no matter how consciously I work towards a certain goal, nothing ever works out the way I planned. Nothing. Ever. So, I’ve decided, for the hundredth time in the last year, to keep my “plans” loose, my mind open and my expectations tied up in a tight little bag that is packed away in some imaginary box inside my own future-focused brain.
This is all a lead-in to the fact that working as camp hosts in California Gold Country for the summer delayed our original plan, which was to sell two boats and the contents of one storage shed. None of that has happened because we’ve been distracted by learning how to sell camping memberships. (More on that later.) It’s all good though. We’ve added some new skills to our tool boxes, made a little money, and seen parts of California we hadn’t seen before…at least, officially.
So, instead of griping about what we haven’t done yet, I think I will spend the next few posts describing what we have done. It’s better than grieving over unfinished plans and dreams, right?
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on the road to simplicity 
Ahhhh… great way to look at it Theresa!!!
I have learned that if I do one effective thing each day, I have accomplished something. Just eating properly or praying for a person who really needs that kindness, I have done well. I have much to keep me busy but if I don’t accomplish it all, No one is coming to punish me. Only I can do that. then I will push myself to get that job out of my mind by finishing it.
We spend a lot of time chastising ourselves for not “finishing” what we have challenged ourselves to do. What a waste!
Yes.