Plans

I had a rough plan for today that involved a lot of walking.  Since I've been sick, I've been short on walking time.  But another event came along and made it difficult to accomplish the walking.  So that plan was out. 

I had another plan that included some trail work, but the trail crew has gone radio silent, so that plan was out.

So I had another plan based on getting some work done early, and then getting on with other things.  And I even woke up early enough that I can get a start on it.  But then, as I started up, there was something on Facebook to react to, and possibly develop.  So I made a note and put that aside.  But then there was *another* item to react to.  And it seemed to be more important than what I had planned to post.  So I reacted to and posted that, instead.  And then there was another thing to react to, and so I've made a note of the things that I had planned to do, but didn't get done, because these other things came along.

And I'm probably okay with that.  The things that I had planned aren't necessarily urgent, and I've made notes to myself, and I've got an awful lot of notes to myself buried in my email, but they're still there, and I may get to them eventually, but then if I don't, these other things may be more important.

Yes, I know that sticking to your own plans in the face of changing circumstances is foolish.  Yes, I've learned that lesson.  I've learned that what comes along, and is more important, is what you should do.  It's a little bit more difficult for me, because, after Gloria's death, it was difficult to get myself to do *anything*.  I had to set up some fairly rigorous structures, and plan my day, and plan my week, and even to a certain extent plan my months, so that I would do anything at all.  And these plans were important, and still are important, so that I don't just sit and do nothing.  But you have to recognize what is important, and what is *more* important.  It's not so much that "man plans and God laughs," or that "life is what happens when you're making other plans," as much as there's a continuum of importance, and you are constantly faced with the admittedly difficult task of figuring out where the things that come up are on that continuum.  And maybe the things that you had planned to do aren't as far along as what just pops up.

(By the way, I wrote this several days ago, and I'm only just getting around to posting it now ...)