Plans

Just a few thoughts on a subject very near and dear to my heart. I will attempt to keep it short...

Plans. the idea of a plan is quite interesting. Plan: a scheme or method of acting, doing, proceeding, making, etc., developed in advance. Truly what seperates us from the common animal, no? We have the ability to think ahead. To not act upon instinct. To look at the possible outcomes and decide on the best course of action. One might say that this is essentially the most useful tool in our modern world. After all, look at the scope of plans. There are battle plans for the military, business plans for the corporate world, personal goals for individuals, vacation plans, shopping lists, to-do lists, etc. We plan and scheme through our daily lives, and we often take for granted this ability to map out the future.

However, as all soldiers know, this is a foolish mindset. "No plan survives first contact with the enemy" is perhaps the most ancient military adage. And it is so very true. For those of you who have not experienced the military, I will tell you now that there has not been a single day where a plan that I made in the morning survived intact. Things change. People change their minds. Plans get scratched and reformed. This is why we learn to adjust fire.

However, this stands true not just for the military. Think your plans in daily life really work out? Okay, so you decide to sit down and watch a movie or some such thing. Not really a plan if you think about it. Those actions which we perform during the day are more like functions of a machine. Sometimes they work like clockwork. Most of the time, however, they fall apart.

The problem is our society teaches children that plans work. Look at our school system: we schedule every moment of our child's day, keeping them in a controlled environment as much as possible. Yes, some parents tell their children how life really goes. But what do teenagers growing up say? "I want to get out into the real world, where my decisions are not controlled by my parents." It has become both a virtue and a sin to be spontaneous, to have no plans, to just live life3 for what it is. On the one hand, those who live life according to their own means are seen as individuals, which in America we hold in the highest regard. But how many parents look well at a child who does not have a five year plan for after high school? We want our children to have set goals, and many mothers and fathers want to put the futures for their children into stone. I say that this is not only wrong to do, but extremely foolish.

Let me share this from personal experience. Luckily, I had a family that let me in on life's little secrets. I was there every moment when something went bad in my paren'ts jobs, when we lost money, when we had to "adjust fire". I was always made aware of the problems and issues in life. However, once upon a time I was young and naiive. I was so bold as to say that I knew better than my family, that I would not have a problem because I had the ability to map out every contingency. And I do. It is a simple fact: when it comes to plans, I have found only a handful out there who can plan for every eventuality as I can. If you are out there, I congratulate you. However, this is no boast in my book. In fact, it can be a liability. My ego got so large that when all of my perfectly planned future plans came crashing down around my ears, I plunged into a place where no person should be. I will say it here and now: I should have listened to my parents. You cannot plan for life. It happens. And when it does, it is painful.

Many of you out there reading this will scoff and say either "what is he talking about" or "of course, I knew that already". But take a moment and consider it. You have your life planned? Really? Look at me. 9 months ago, I was on the road to recovery with my girlfriend and planning for a good 4 years in the military. Now, I am in Korea, single, and without the slightest idea of what is to come. I used to think badly upon those who had no plans for the future. Now.... I am not so sure. Maybe they have it right. I have found out much about faith and trust in the past 9 months. I now see the point of what all those people were trying to tell me. In many cases, to plan ahead is foolish. There are some things which we can wish for: goals for our personal life, some long-term events, perhaps career plans. I know there are plans that I have which will come to fruition. However... on the overall, plans are foolish. They do not survive first contact. Listen to Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen by Quindon Tarver. Possibly the best advice on the face of the earth. "Don't worry about the furture. Or worry, but knonw that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum."

If you take nothing else from this little trip into my random musings, take this. I "knew" what was best for my life. Now, I truly do not. I have considered myself to be a very intelligent individual for a long time. However, I can say this: as smart as I am, I am just a child when it comes to what life has to throw my direction. There are a few things in my life that will always remain constant. To those of you closest to me... you know what those are. However, the rest is up for chance. I may go on a mission for spiritual reasons. I may end up at the end of my years running a surf shop in California, or a business in Australia. I may die a fiery death in combat. Who knows. The point is... People, do not plan for things. Have goals, have wishes, for the sake of all good things have wishes. It is our ability to hope, to take an idea and wish for it to happen that sets us apart. But no plans made by humans survive the battlefield that is life. We are just simply along for the ride.