Eckhart Tolle tells us—when thinking of the future—that we plan in the now, in the present moment. He has been an inspiration in my life, and I do my best to embody this concept of planning, here and now. My 2018 planning season is mostly complete.
Planning season has its moments.
Much of these past winter months I have stolen moments to plan for future travels. I know, right? If you’ve read my blogs before you’d get the sense that I never go anywhere—NOT! And as is my usual wont, I’ve planned a lot. Much of it in succession.
The first flurry: A hands-on work project in Mexico with Grandma’s Rotary club, which happens to butt up against a section hike on the Pacific Crest Trail. Fly to Mexico, work, hang out on the beach, work some more, fly to San Diego, then start hiking. I’m meeting a couple of my buddies there and hiking from the Mexican border for 342 miles to the north. That’s the plan.
Rotary led high school refurbishment project, Las Varas, Nayarit, Mexico. 2015
Rotary led high school refurbishment project, Las Varas, Nayarit, Mexico. 2015
Rotary led high school refurbishment project, Las Varas, Nayarit, Mexico. 2015
That takes a lot of groundwork. Permits, buying supplies, figuring out resupply plans. Packing. Thank goodness that I live with my travel agent. She booked flights for me to get from Point A to B then C and on to D—where she has me appearing on stage at a Rotary convention following our Polio’s Last Mile campaign. (Recognition is a wonderful thing—but the day after getting of the trail? Really?)
Backpack and resupply boxes ready for the Pacific Crest Trail.
Oh well. It was all planned in the present moment.
Then there’s a trip to Europe this summer touring with our granddaughter and visiting with friends in Provence. Grandma made all those plans. From there—what the heck—add on a trek around Mont Blanc with a good friend (Karla, in my book Su Camino). Karla has done a masterful job of planning that one. I’m so looking forward to these adventures.
The next time I get to sit and plan, in the now, I’ll be looking into a Grand Canyon hike, with a twist. I want to get to Northern AZ (from my Nor Cal home) by bus and train—only. That’s nothing unusual in Europe, but in the States, especially out west, it’s not easy.
One other thing: During these past months, I jumped into writing fiction, for fun. It was more of an experiment into creativity. I discovered “the flow.” With no practical training or specific education in the art, I just went for it—making it up as I went along. I’ll try to get it finished up in the next couple of months (while trekking around) and uploaded to Amazon. It’s called, Three Red Sedans: A Mild-Mannered Mystery/Thriller.