I hit the road this weekend to head down to visit some friends in NC. I knew that I'd be going down a few months ago and planned it out, as much as was necessary. I thought about leaving Friday afternoon, but because of the traffic I've faced before, decided to wait until Saturday AM. I packed Friday evening. A friend of mine came by that evening and told me he was going to ride down with me for the weekend. Cool. So, I went to bed at a decent hour, got up and dressed in the morning. Called my friend and in less than 12 hours, he had changed his mind and decided he'd stay here and get some work done. Okay. I'm not a fan of folks commiting to one thing and then un-commiting to it, but, it wasn't going to change my trip.
I hit the road before 9 and hopped on I-95. Thinking to myself...I'm out early enough, I should be able to roll down my windows, turn up my music and ride out. That's how I planned it. Well, despite the planning, I had gone about 45 miles and ran into the back of silly traffic congestion that had no cause - no accident, roadwork, etc. - other than too
many folks on the road. I was first annoyed at the audacity of the traffic to mess up my plan. After so many minutes of creeping along on the 95, I got off, and hopped on a smaller roadway - US 1, hoping to fare better. US 1 of course had traffic signals, fewer lanes and a lower speed limit...but at least it was moving. So, I stayed on 1 for awhile, tried to make up some time and then hopped back on 95. That went well for all of...10 minutes and then I hit the backup again. Thoroughly frustrated, I said, later for this, got back on 1 and took it all the way to I-85. This time when I got on 1, I was okay with it and then began to enjoy the scenery, the little towns and all the things I would not have driven by had I stayed on 95. I have been making this drive for many years and this was the first time that I saw some of these gorgeous places. See where I'm going with this...lol...
In taking this little journey south, it occurred to me that this was just like life. You can make the best plans. People can both support you and disappoint you with their participation or lack thereof in your plans. But, you never know when you're going to hit unexpected congestion or road blocks. And you can either wait it out patiently, which is fine, or you can get pissed off about it. Or, you can decide to try another way. And in trying another way, you can continue to be mad about the first attempt that met with resistance. Or, you can choose to let that go and appreciate the things that this 'alternate' plan has brought you. You can accept that your plan, although altered, is still good and is still worthy of much excitement. And by doing so you get to enjoy so many beautiful things that you hadn't even planned on initially.
As I've heard...plan for the worst, hope for the best and be flexible with everything in between.
I hit the road before 9 and hopped on I-95. Thinking to myself...I'm out early enough, I should be able to roll down my windows, turn up my music and ride out. That's how I planned it. Well, despite the planning, I had gone about 45 miles and ran into the back of silly traffic congestion that had no cause - no accident, roadwork, etc. - other than too
many folks on the road. I was first annoyed at the audacity of the traffic to mess up my plan. After so many minutes of creeping along on the 95, I got off, and hopped on a smaller roadway - US 1, hoping to fare better. US 1 of course had traffic signals, fewer lanes and a lower speed limit...but at least it was moving. So, I stayed on 1 for awhile, tried to make up some time and then hopped back on 95. That went well for all of...10 minutes and then I hit the backup again. Thoroughly frustrated, I said, later for this, got back on 1 and took it all the way to I-85. This time when I got on 1, I was okay with it and then began to enjoy the scenery, the little towns and all the things I would not have driven by had I stayed on 95. I have been making this drive for many years and this was the first time that I saw some of these gorgeous places. See where I'm going with this...lol...In taking this little journey south, it occurred to me that this was just like life. You can make the best plans. People can both support you and disappoint you with their participation or lack thereof in your plans. But, you never know when you're going to hit unexpected congestion or road blocks. And you can either wait it out patiently, which is fine, or you can get pissed off about it. Or, you can decide to try another way. And in trying another way, you can continue to be mad about the first attempt that met with resistance. Or, you can choose to let that go and appreciate the things that this 'alternate' plan has brought you. You can accept that your plan, although altered, is still good and is still worthy of much excitement. And by doing so you get to enjoy so many beautiful things that you hadn't even planned on initially.
As I've heard...plan for the worst, hope for the best and be flexible with everything in between.
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