Peripheral Vision

My last post talked about anticipation, and looking forward to certain things in your life that you have deemed to be significant.  Goals are good!  In building on that philosophy I've decided that it would be appropriate to write a little something about plans.  What is a plan?  I looked it up on Wiki: "A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with timing and resources, used to achieve an objective."  Nice definition.  Plans are separate from goals--check.
 
Over the past year or so my ideas about making plans have experienced a drastic shift.  There's something about living by myself in a new setting that has brought out the more spontaneous side of my nature.  Once I got over the shock of "Wow, I really just moved to Denver and hardly know anyone-- now what?" I came to the realization that I'm at a wonderful stage in my life where, save for specific things like work and church, my schedule rests almost entirely on me.  I have several hours each day that I can fill with...  This scared me.  I'm the type of person who feels a need to be productive, a need to work towards accomplishing something.  How could I possibly plan out that much free time toward productive things?!  I felt a bit overwhelmed, so something had to change.

Back in the day, blinders were used on carriage horses so that they could only see straight ahead to the task at hand.  If they were allowed to use their peripheral vision, they would become distracted or spooked.  I think this example fits fairly well.  I no longer wear my blinders; I'm not a carriage horse.  Even though I may be distracted, or even spooked, if I'm "allowed" to see anything other than a direct path, I gain a new world of possibilities in how I can accomplish my goals.  Is this the safest way? No.  Does life need to always be safe?

I quit planning.  I started doing.  Problem solved.  There is a time and a place for making plans...but I'm actually at a loss as to when and where that may be-- maybe if you're working for NASA blasting people into outer-space or something of that magnitude, but that's a little bigger deal than "how am I going to spend my weekend."  This doesn't mean that I just wander around aimlessly without purpose or reason; if that were the case, I wouldn't get anything done.  I still have purpose, and I still have goals.  What I mean is that in looking at a theoretical map of "Point A" to "Point B," I no longer feel a need to have a set list of scheduled steps (an itinerary) to go along with it.  My goal is to get to Point B...go!  There are so many more adventures to be had, things to learn, and potential mistakes to learn from if you allow yourself the freedom to do so.  And I actually get more done-- who knew?!

Here's to Days Just Packed with peripheral vision!