How do you plan your life? This is always a question that people ask. What are you going to do?
What’s the next step? I had an interesting question today. Someone asked me, if you could change anything in your life, what would you change?
If you could have a different career, what would you have chosen? And I was a bit embarrassed, to be quite honest, because I’m doing absolutely what I love. I teach and I write and I philosophize.
Life could not be much better for a person like me. I wouldn’t change anything from where I am right now. But of course, I have along the way, hurt people, I’m sure.
I’ve made some bad investments financially. But as to a career, we could all have had a different career, but those careers would have produced a different human being.
And I question whether some of them would have made me as happy as I am, whatever that means. So the question becomes, how do you plan your life?
Well, I think at the very beginning, when you gain consciousness, because this is an unfair question to someone who’s young, 16, 18 years old, but when you come to full consciousness, let’s say at 20 or in that range, 2021, I think the very, very
first thing a person must do, if you’re serious about planning your life, and many people are not, of course, but if you are serious, you must sit in silence for a protracted period of time, and you don’t have to necessarily sit, but you need to go
for a very long walk alone and have a chat with yourself. And I believe, with God, if you possibly can have that form of communication, you need to have a partner in your life, God, Gaia, or the universe. You can describe that being in the way you
want, but I believe there is this force, and it will be your friend along the way. You need to have that conversation and ask, what should I do?
And then listen, listen to your inner heart, and your heart will tell you what you should do, what you should undertake. Then after you have that walk, and that walk has given you a sense of peace.
I had that walk when I was about 18 or 19 years old, and I never forgot it for whatever it was worth. I never forgot that conversation.
Now, the conversation does not tell you, at least it didn’t tell me, you must become a sailor, a lawyer, a candlestick maker. It wasn’t that kind of conversation. The conversation was, you should believe in the decisions that you make.
When they’re planned out, believe in you. So to do that, obviously we need a notebook. We need a notebook to write down our plans.
And then we’re off, aren’t we? We’re going to follow what we believe to be correct. Now, you could go along for a while, and you could discover that the plan that you believed was for you was actually the wrong plan.
And you had to change and take on a different direction. In my case, for instance, for a long time I believed I should be a businessman, but that ultimately was not my calling.
I did well with it, but it was not what my heart said I should do, ultimately. And I was fortunate to go to a different place and start on the career which I’m presently undertaking. And I think we’re all like this.
We push on in a certain direction, and it might be not the career for me. I often like to tell the story of my friend Hubert, and his calling, initially he thought, was to become a doctor.
The first year was wonderful, but the second year, they brought in the cadavers, and he had to work on the cadavers.
Now, I’ve never been exposed to a cadaver in a medical situation, but I’m told, and I’ve read, that there is a tinge, there is a smell of formaldehyde, because they have to obviously be preserved from decay, and when they are cut, this preservative
can come out. There is a liquid that comes out, and my poor friend, this made him nauseous, and he got sick. And the professor, of course, says this is something that happens, and you get sick for the first time, but you will get used to this.
But he never did. And after about two or three weeks, a month, whatever, he finally left. He quit.
He left the medical practice, and his family, his father in particular, were just horrified. I think as anyone’s father would be, my son is going to be successful as a doctor.
It was not to be, and his father probably never forgave him, quite honestly. But my friend eventually went back to school, and got a Ph.D. in music, which was his first love.
So there we are. He eventually ended up doing what he was called to do. But it wasn’t an easy transition, as it is not an easy transition for many people.
So obviously you need a plan, and with that plan, there must be points in that plan that it leads you to where you want to go. And I think many people say that you should constantly review your plan to see if you’re on track.
And this is where The Notebook, once again, is extremely important, because it’s not a diary and not a journal.
This is where you’re putting your spontaneous thoughts, because if you’re on the right plan, on the right path, you’re going to find that you’re totally energized along the way, and you’re filled with these ideas and these thoughts and these
contacts. So exciting! Truly. For instance, David and I are going to go on the Matsu walk in the next couple of weeks.
And last summer we walked the Kamino. And all of this is part of the plan, to get out and spread the message. And so the plan has derivations.
Certainly the Kamino walk wasn’t planned ten years ago, let’s say. It presented itself a number of years ago. The Matsu walk also was not planned, but it’s presented itself in this year.
But the plan to continue with the mission of critical thinking and talking about time, is the larger plan that encapsulates where we’re going. So the plan, and I think your plan is exactly the same.
You have a path, but sometimes the river flows in multiple directions as you continue on that path, right? Most assuredly.
So, don’t be afraid with your plan when it has these changes, but just remember the goal is so necessary in the future, wherever you’re going, right? You’re going to some spot, and the plan will carry you there.
And I think it is important along the way to also listen to people, people that give you counsel, they give you advice, because you’re not isolated, even though you are your own teacher, you have to be open to other ideas, other thoughts, even
criticisms, if I can put it that way, to let the plan ultimately unfold, and then you will see your goal in the future. You really will.
And you know what they say, you know what they say, critical thinking is excellent, especially if you’re going to develop your plan, your mission, and critical thinking is great, truly great. You take care. God bless. Bye-bye.