We tend to like making a plan and sticking to it. It’s vital when you’re making appointments, setting up dinner plans, scheduling a vacation, or even doing chores. We like to assure greater success by assessing variables like time or money or weather. A well made plan gives us a sense of security and larger positive return on our intent.
How do we schedule? How much time is needed and when to do it is based on proven parameters. We can look at the Weather Channel, recall the base speed of completion in the past, and the time we now have available. Then factor in our age, our physical ability, and variables like that and we feel pretty confident.
And then Murphy’s law kicks in.
As we get older and retire from our day jobs with our whiteboards and formal structure, we find ourselves relaxing the hard edges of scheduling. We sleep a little later, or decide we aren’t in the mood for today’s grocery run, and we shift. We relax. We get spoiled by less structure and rely on assist tools. It reminds me of how my Subaru beeps to tell me if I’m drifting over a line, or get too close when I back up, or slow my cruise control speed when I’m following too close on the highway. I resisted a little at first and then I kind of liked it, and eventually got just a little bit numb and dependent.
We get more comfortable with warning beeps and proudly step forward with a plan for a task – perhaps based on outdated parameters. Then we lift that pot that’s too heavy, hear a resounding pop, and our schedules are wiped off the whiteboard.
This picture of fall pumpkins looks like the reality I now need to embrace for my life. It is exciting … and pretty … and completely unpredictable. There is very little clear structure. There is a fabulous variety of color and the sky is reassuringly blue above, on most days. However, this new adventure into living with surprise asks us to pause and become a student again. We must learn to set aside our accepted parameters and hone our critical thinking skills again, because if you pick one pumpkin out of the new order, others could tumble. When that happens, and it will happen, it is important to remain calm and embrace where we are at that new moment with grace, agility and optimism. Like a new student, we need to take a deep breath and find joy in the learning process.
Kelly E. James 