Thoughts for Tuesday

I'm beginning something new. On Tuesday I plan to take a quote that has inspired me in some way, and write a little about what it means to me. Nothing complex, just my thoughts about why that quote is important to me, how it interests me, how it touched me. Feel free to comment on it or to post your own, and please let me know if you do that.

So here we go .....

I see my path, but I don't know where it leads. Not knowing where I'm going is what inspires me to travel it.
~Rosalia de Castro, (1837-1885), Galician romanticist writer and poet.

I have always had a sense of adventure, and I enjoy new experiences. At least most of the time, I do. I see life as a journey, and a journey without having fun along the way would be terribly boring. I think everyone should stop and visit the historical landmarks, the tourist traps, the scenic overlooks, etc., as they go. So that's what I do. I have no idea where the next segment of my journey will lead, but unless I go with it, I won't ever find out, now will I?

I can't, none of us can see into our future. I can choose to hunker down and wait for the next wave to hit me, pounding me into the sand, or I can lean forward and dive into it and see where the swell takes me. I choose the latter!

Through my life, some of the best things to come to me have been total surprises. Conversely, some of the biggest disappointments have been those things that I decided I wanted and worked hard to get or to achieve, only to have them blow up or fizzle out before my eyes. At first I had to accept that I wasn't in charge. That was a challenge! Next I came to realize that sometimes we don't get things we desperately want or are convinced we can't live without, possibly because they aren't good for us in the first place! And eventually, I began to let the forces bigger than myself take the control in my stead, and I began to find more happiness and peace than I've ever known.

I don't mean to suggest that we give up on making plans or planning for the future. Mercy! We would all be floundering like ships on the sea with out sails! No, we still plan for our needs down the road. BUT .... we need to be flexible in those plans. When Plan A doesn't work, I usually have a Plan B to fall back on. And when I get to Plan H (OK, I usually don't wait this long!), I know it wasn't meant to be. If I've remained open to the changes of the wind and the storms and the other obstacles, "going with the flow" as often as I can, and it still isn't working, then I accept that I must have been unbelievably off course, and I return to the drawing board.

Frankly, I like riding the tide, seeing where it takes me. I've had more fun on those side trips than on the interstate. That is where I've met the most interesting people and had the greatest fun in my life. When I stick too closely to "The Plan," I've had my biggest disappointments. So I've most often chosen to simply follow the path, although I can't see what is around the bend ahead. I've chosen the adventure of accepting what comes my way, and I enjoy the surprises as they occur. Of course, I watch where I'm going so I don't step into a gully and break a leg as I go. My life has been more fully blessed with people and things and places than I can convey, because I'm not fighting against the forces, but letting them direct my feet.

So .... is your path leading you, or are you leading it?