How to Plan Spontaneity
Thursday, July 12, 2012 at 9:09 PM Spontaneous - without effort or premeditation; natural and unconstrained; unplanned
Somewhere along the way, my subconscious dubbed this season "The Summer of Spontaneous (SoS)"... days glorious and effortless, seamless in spirit, and resonating with fun. With such a focus, the logical challenge becomes how to prepare for this spontaneity since the very definition means 'unplanned.' It's a mind-boggling oxymoron to consider, but in this day and age stressing filled calendars and limited time, I took it upon myself to do exactly that... Plan.
For several months, a road trip has been calling my name. My super sweet VW convertible, "lucy2," hasn't had a proper long distance outing since our "Baby Road trip" four years ago. In fact last summer was so dismal here in Seattle that we rarely even managed to put the top down. That said, it only seemed appropriate to plan an adventure. An idea popped into my head for a West coast road trip/book tour orchestrated and hosted by others. Brilliant, I thought. It made perfect sense to me because I've been known to start things quickly and I love to be spontaneous. What I discovered, however, was that people planning such events generally frown upon this brand of spontaneity. "You want an event when? Three weeks? No way!" Result? The planning didn't work. Why? Because this trip has its own purpose and clearly wants to be fluid... without effort or premeditation.
After seriously considering canceling the trip (because my methods weren't working), I asked myself again, how do you plan spontaneity? Then I remembered my own wisdom—how I do one thing is how I do everything—and I began to recall other situations where 'sort of' planning was called for. When I facilitate a workshop or deliver a speech, I set my parameters—beginning & ending—and focus on the essence of what I want to experience or offer. The boundaries and intent become set and what happens in the middle is left to the Great Unknown.
Regrouping recently, I considered my constraints (and availability) and decided to hit the road heading south on July 20 with a return date around July 29. With these parameters in place, I began to focus on the essence of the trip... Clearly it's begging to be unconstrained and without premeditation as well as full of independence and freedom. I long to experience the road beneath the wheels and feel the air within my hair. With music or silence as my traveling companions, I hope to see old friends, make new ones, nurture relationships, and visit new places. To go where the wind blows and see what each day holds.
It's taken me weeks of pondering and plotting to get here... and somehow even with all the false starts and disappointing stops, I have no doubt it has been coming together exactly as it should—combined in some sort of unknown and inconspicuous way. It's a process of refinement... not planning. Being spontaneous does require making space, either by keeping a calendar open or being willing to cancel an already committed to plan. In my process, letting go of plans and boiling it down to the essentials feels like the clearest way I know to plan for spontaneity... oxymoron that it is.
- How do you plan for spontaneity?
- What "essence" is tugging at your heart this summer?
- How will you make space for what may come?
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If you'd like to join me on the road, consider following along on Facebook or check in here for spontaneous posts. In the meantime, I'd love to know your favorite haunts along the West Coast. What are the must see's or do's you recommend? Road trip tunes? Best photo opportunities? Be bold and share your comments here!! And if you're on my route, you never know... I just might pop in... spontaneously, of course!
Reader Comments (2)
Woohoo! Great plan, enjoy the road - my days at Encaustic Camp have a beginning and an end but what happens in between has been totally unknown to me when I've stepped into a classroom each a.m. So far the results are nothing but positive:) xoxo
We have to plan space/time for spontaneity -- such a great insight! Did you see the write-up on the site in Oprah? I love it. A way to keep in tune with new music in a way I can handle + fun playlists. http://valslist.com Happy trails.