When I go to work every day, I try to have a plan. I know before I get there where I want to start, and what I need to get done. It never goes exactly according to plan, but often I get close to accomplishing something close to a job well done. Some days not so much. On those days, it seems like I’m trying to herd wet, angry cats into a barrell, in the middle of a thunderstorm. Those are the fun days that make me happy to be alive. Yes, I’m holding up my “Sarcasm Sign”. I must remember that a plan is just that: a plan.
They’re great to have, those plans. One of my favorite sayings is from an old Yiddish proverb: “We plan, God laughs”. I don’t think the Almighty is laughing with us on that one. He knows that it’s His job to be all-knowing, all-powerful, and all those other “alls”. We just need to trust Him to be Him, then go out there and do our best. Still, a plan is a good start.
I was going to go to college, become a history teacher in high school, and live the life of a revered academic. Yeah, right. I look back on that goal of lessened expectations and realize that I wouldn’t have made it through the first school year in a room with teenagers. Real life steered me elsewhere, and I was saved from either being killed by a mob of teens or spending life behind bars for throttling one of that mob. Funny how things work out. I’m grateful for the Good Lord looking out for me, and I certainly don’t begrudge him a chuckle at my naivete. I would feel a lot better about it, if I’d followed some simple rules of economics, and not squandered my tiny bit of excess cash. Retirement looms, and I sigh the dejected sigh of the “will work for food” crowd. I might get to my social security before crazy Uncle Sam gives it all away, but I doubt it. Alas I digress.
I always thought the term “winging it” had something to do with airplanes. After minimal research, I discovered its real origin. It comes from the theater. It refers to an actor, studying his part in the wings (the areas to either side of the stage) because he’s been called upon suddenly to replace another actor. It was first recorded in 1885 and was eventually used towards all kinds of “improvisation based on unpreparedness”. I think that can be the perfect analogy for life itself. Don’t misunderstand, I think a plan is always handy as a starting point. Then life happens. We are all just practicing, off to the side of life, waiting to jump out there and do our thing. When we get our “big chance” we may forget our lines. We might even be called upon to be a character we hadn’t planned on or read the lines for. We may just have to “wing it” and improvise the entire performance. Some of the greatest moments in life happen during those times. We fall in love. We become parents. We nurse sick and dying relatives. Life happens to us, and we react as best we can. There are people who rise to the occasion, and people who fail miserably. Those can be the same person, minute by minute. Nobody gets it perfect every time. So, don’t forget to make a plan for your day, your year, heck-even your life. Just remember that life ain’t a mathematical equation, it’s art. We gotta dance to the tune that the band is playing, with the most skill we can, with the fullness of our hearts. Go. Do. Fall down. Get up. The most important thing: Never, Never, Never give up!
Thanks for reading this. I was just winging it. I hope God got a giggle out of that, too.
Rolling Stones 