As children we never made plans.

The only promise of tomorrow was that the sun would rise, and we would wake and enjoy whatever the day held.

However, somewhere between the forgotten freedom of our childhood and the pressures of daily, adult life many of us plan our days out as a business executive—rushing from one obligation to the next.

But, in those moments of carefully planned meetings, children’s activities and household chores, we aren’t really living life to its fullest.

To live a life we love is to wake with the adventure for a new day—a day yet unplanned by the mundane.

A day that is ripe for the taking.

“Let life surprise you.” ~ Mary Oliver

Recently, I have disengaged myself from the need to plan.

It was therapeutic in the beginning because I had found myself so scheduled that I didn’t have the chance for the solo, quiet time I was craving. So, I made the conscience choice to not plan get-togethers or dinners ahead of time. In my head, I wasn’t going to plan anything, so that I would have some, much needed, down time.

But you know what? That didn’t happen—and that’s okay.

I had unintentionally made room for the spontaneous in my life.

I had given myself permission to take last minute opportunities. It’s these chances for adventure, that are directed by living in the moment and enjoying life unscripted. I essentially planned time where I could be directed by the universe or by my heart, to do whatever felt right at that moment.

I think, too often, we make plans because we feel we won’t be able to get everything done. But, in the meantime, we are unaware of the small moments of opportunity we are missing out on.

How many times have we felt a pull in our hearts to do something, yet had to silence that because we had plans?

As the weather has been heating up, I have the to urge to drive. Not to a destination, but just to drive—aimlessly around green hills and trees with buds so delicate it looks like they have lace draped around their branches.

I’ve been taking the long way home, letting the night air flow through my car, enjoying the scent of it, as I would taste a rare vintage of Merlot. The primary aromas of fields just being plowed, the rich spring dirt. A secondary bouquet of flowering trees, smelling like a mix of sweet apple and lilacs, followed by the seductive scent of a low lying humidity across the valley.

It’s intoxicating.

I may not always know where I am going, and sometimes I make it up as I go along.

In the past few weeks, I have let myself make room for the unplanned.

I have experienced some amazing moments that I otherwise wouldn’t have—-afternoons with friends laying in the warm sun, dinners with old and new friends overflowing with laughter and jokes, baseball games, days in the hot sun at the beach—memories that make me smile as I sit and reflect on them even now.

I know that we have things we have to do, but let’s room leave room for the spontaneous too.

At least one day a week, make no plans.

Wake with the sun and let your day unfold.

If a friend calls to meet for lunch—go!

If you feel like your heart is craving the vastness of space—then get in your car and go!

Follow your soul urges. Soul urges are those that speak to us and direct us to do, not what we should be doing, or whom we should be spending time with, but instead point the way for those moments that will stay with us forever—the moments that make our heart sing.

I leave at least one day a week unplanned, for life to just happen.

When friends of mine ask what I am doing with my time, while my children are with their father, I simply reply, “I have no idea. No plans.”

But I know now that doesn’t mean I won’t be making some amazing memories.

“We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us”

~ Joseph Campbell

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Relephant Reads:

 Spontaneous Living.

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Author: Kate Rose

Editor: Ashleigh Hitchcock

Image: Pinterest