Why I stopped planning

I have always been the type of person to plan out my goals, work at
creating my future, tend to look at life through a magnifying glass, and
purpose a “living-free” attitude.  If you’re a lot like me, you know how
beautiful life is when you truly soak it up.

However, when I look back at my personal 2014, I must admit, it was not a bowl of cherries or a garden full of roses!  Instead, I was faced with many of life stressors and a series of challenging events, one after one, that steered me to not live-free and easily challenged my faith.  To not live-free and faith-based is totally against my motto so I had to take a hard look to find what lesson each of these struggles were teaching me.

Out of each struggle, something new revealed the plan I am supposed to be on — not the plans I had created. And, that’s ok.

These new plans have illustrated in a whole new context, that life boils to down two valuable things, people and love.  Period.

Thus, I have completely stopped planning.  As without honoring what life is truly about, my initial plans for 2014 wouldn’t have really been fulfilled.

I have learned the very truth that moments are precious, as we aren’t
promised tomorrow.  In the bigger picture of life, you must ask yourself,
“Does this really matter?”  and, “What does really matter?”  Let me tell
you, it’s not money or bank account, it’s not the stress you’re facing at
this very moment, it’s not a job title, or a fancy car….life boils down
to people and love.  That’s it.

People.  Think about it.  Ever since the beginning of time and written in Scripture (Eph. 4:9), “Two is better than one.” We need people and people need us.  Sure, there are those certain few we may not get along with (family member, co-worker, ex-lover), but that’s where love comes in.

Love.  You have heard it before that you have to love yourself before you
can love anyone else.  However, let me go a step further and say, “You
have to learn to love people before you can learn to love yourself.”

Ok, pause.  Let’s read that again and think about how people and love go
together.

We cannot control others.  We cannot control their actions, words,
mannerisms, or faults; instead we have to learn how to love them
regardless, including those very things we may not like.  Once we
understand this mindset, it frees us to better understand and love
ourselves.  What does this mean exactly?

Well, once we soon realize others are the way they are and we can’t change
them, we equip ourselves (or allow ourselves) to enter into the “Can’t
touch me zone!”  Those things they did that hurt us, quirks or nuisances
that make us cringe, or times they literally drove us nuts, will no longer
affect us.  We then learn those are their unique traits that really had
nothing to do with us as we personally took it.  We begin to love them for
all that they are and will slowly start to notice new things we never let
ourselves see before.

So, how does this tie into why I stopped planning? 

Well, you see, when I had my life all planned out the way I thought I wanted to direct it, I would have missed those precious moments with the people that were put into my path unexpectedly.

Those people I met that taught me how to love them, everything about them, and how to then love myself deeper.  I truly believe that people are brought into your life for seconds, minutes, seasons, or even a lifetime and you must cherish each moment.  Be mindful to exactly how they inspire you.  Each moment is meant to teach us more and more about the importance of life, people, and love.

Through the challenges I personally faced in 2014, I wouldn’t be as strong
as I am today had I not embraced the fact that my plans went in another
direction, a better direction.  This is such an amazing truth I hope you
will grasp.  When you operate out of love, the whole world is a lot
brighter!

This isn’t to say not to plan.  In fact, I am planning and setting
personal goals and achievements for 2015.  What it means to stop planning
is to learn to live carefree; be completely open, be committed to soak up
what this life is really about, and seek what our purpose is here on
earth.  Give a little more and you gain a whole lot more than you could
ever imagine.  Focus on people, and focus on love.