Plan Your Day but Be Open to Wandering

PLAN YOUR DAY

 

Welcome to Day 9 of #write31days and Five Minute Friday Free Writes. Today’s prompt is the word plan. We all know that we usually get more done if we make plans. It’s good to plan your day, but my goal isn’t always to get something done.

 

I was chatting with one of my daughters about this and she said maybe I should make a haiku of Tolkien’s poem Upon the Hearth. Here are her exact words:

 

Because it’s all about wandering with no plan
except the paths that present themselves.

And then, of course, home again to fire and lamp
and meat and bread and then to bed…
The plan is to have no particular plan.

 

Plan to Wander

 

TO PLAN OR NOT?

 

Rigid schedules are not my cup of tea. I like to make room for detours like leaving the chores and spending time out in nature. So her idea really appealed to me. Instead of needing to schedule outdoor time I could be free to go out when the opportunity presented itself. That way I could look closely for interesting and unusual things. I often find beauty in the most unlikely places.

 

 

 

I love to wander outside with no particular plan.

 

And now for my haiku. I decided to take my daughter’s challenge and write one loosely based on Tolkien’s poem. I couldn’t stop with just one stanza, I needed more to convey the thoughts I wanted to share.

 

Home Awaits My Wandering

Cozy home awaits
Comfy chair beside the fire
But I must wander

Trees and sky and clouds
Flowers hidden in the grass
Still I travel on

 

 

Past the clear blue lake
Rocky bank and sandy shore
Must keep rushing on

Treasures I may find
On a hidden secret path
Just around the bend

 

 

Home is far behind
There is so much more to see
Daylight fades in mist

Stars shine through the dark
Moonlight guides my wandering
Back to home and bed
~gayl wright

 

Find the rest of my series by clicking HERE or on the Write 31 Days: Photo and Haiku tab at the top of the page.

I’m linking up with: #LMMLinkup, #TeaAndWord, #TrekkingThru

 

19 thoughts on “Plan Your Day but Be Open to Wandering

  1. This is beautiful Gayl! I love your interpretation of Tolkein’s poem. There is so much joy to be shared on our journey here, isn’t there? If only we would take the time to pay attention, and look around! Blessings, love and Hugs to you!

    1. Thank you so much, Bettie! I think Sara might have been half kidding when she suggested it, but I loved her idea. And she loved the poem. 🙂
      Yes, there is so much joy and I want to remember to pay attention, look around and see the beauty.
      Blessings, love and hugs right back to you, dear sister! xoxo

  2. Great poem. I have learned from some of my friends that having a plan sometimes makes you miss the moments that are happening right in front of you. Some days it is better to not have a plan. To just let time go and see what happens.

    1. Thank you, Amanda! Plans are good, but we need to be flexible so we won’t miss the special moments. 🙂 I love just having some days without a plan. It’s fun sometimes like you said to just wait to see what happens. Thanks for your comments. 🙂

      Blessings to you! Love and hugs! xo

  3. I love your daughter’s haiku! It made me laugh. I love yours because it made me want to go on an adventure and I am most definitely a planner, so that’s saying something. You have a wonderfully enticing spirit : )…

    Love,
    your neighbor over on #TeaAndWord

    1. I’m glad you had a laugh and a desire for adventure! 🙂 I like to think I am a planner because I make lists, but I seldom follow the lists! LOL Thanks so much for your visit! You encourage me and make me smile! <3

      Blessings to you!

  4. What a brilliant idea to base your poetic haiku thoughts on Tolkien’s poem! It’s worked so well, as you take us on a beautiful journey that leads back to home. Planning used to be a way of life for me but that soon got scuppered when my days became unpredictable and constrained by having M.E and other chronic illness. One great benefit from it all has been learning to slow down my racing thoughts (as well as my body) and pause long enough to smell the roses, and savour the grace gifts God strews along my path, ones that I might otherwise have missed. And time to appreciate fine poetry like yours, of course! Blessings and love to you, dear friend. xoxo 💜

    1. Thanks, Joy, I’m glad you enjoyed it! I never would have thought of it if Sara had not suggested it. Illness has a way of making us slow down. I think it does take longer to train our minds to slow down but it can be done. 🙂 I have to keep reminding myself to slow down and savor the everyday grace gifts. Thank you for your compliment. It means the world to me.

      Blessings, love and hugs to you, dear sister! xoxo

  5. I thrive on scheduling my every day, so I have to remember to stay open to HIS plans, and let my own go by the wayside. Thanks for reminding me that it’s best when I wander with God.

    1. It’s so easy to get so caught up in completing our schedules that we forget about being open to His plans. I need the reminder, too. It might feel more secure when we can stick to our plans, but our security is really in God, right? So we can be free to drop the plans and “wander with God” which is so much better.

      Thanks for visiting, Lisa! Blessings to you!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.