Scribblings: Spontaneously Planned



Travelers usually adopt one of two approaches; the planned approach or the spontaneous approach. In the planned approach, traveler makes ample preparations, schedules a detailed itinerary, plans the places of attraction they want to see in the country they’re traveling to. Nothing is left to chance so that he makes the best of the [fleeting] time he has in the country. In the spontaneous approach, traveler makes close-to-zero plans. He is the go-where-my-heart/feet-leads-me type of person. He dives into and embraces the unknown, knowing that an adventure awaits and that in itself is an adventure in the making.

An occasional traveler myself, I prefer to adopt a mix of both. As a planner, I study the places that I would be interested to visit prior to the trip, making space for these in my itinerary. The conservative side of me dislikes going into something blind. At the same time, the spontaneous side of me thirsts for adventures [and even mishaps]. If the skies are clear, the people beautiful to watch, and of course great coffee, a planned one-hour trip at a café could turn into two or more if I deem fit. If I like to, I could stop what I was doing [or was planning to do], make a friend out of a stranger on the streets. Three years ago in Taiwan, a whole afternoon’s itinerary was scraped off. I hooked on the internet and found a dance studio. 40 minutes later, I was in the studio dancing my heart out. Sure, spontaneity could get me into trouble sometimes, I missed a ferry ride I’d already paid for, boarded the wrong bus, got stuck in a rainstorm, got lost countless times, but it has given me an experience no planned trips could even come close to offering. It’s scary to not have any plans or to walk away from them, yet sometimes the best things life can give goes to those who dared to go with his flow. Live in the moment.

#1. Well isn’t that how we could live our lives? While we have already pre-dictate how we go about our daily routine and make plans for the future, sometimes we just got to allow the spur-of-the-moments break the monotony of it all. The spur of the moments could be anything. It’s like finding the King’s Cross Station Platform 9¾ or chancing upon a magic wardrobe in a sea of mundanity. An adventure awaits.

#2. While we have made plans for the future, we need to allow God maneuverability to make changes in our plans for He knows what’s best for you and me. It’s like running a Church service. While there is a structured order of service, God is Lord. Hence we surrender the reins over to Him to move in the service.

Unstructured within a structure. Spontaneous within a plan.

The unpredictability of life can be just as interesting as the notion of traveling.