Let go of the past, let go of the future, let go of the present,
and cross over to the farther shore of existence.
—The Dhammapada - Chapter 24, Verse 348
I was talking to a friend about plans for the future. He mentioned his son, who’s in the military with the next twenty-five years of his career mapped out. I’m in a branch of sales where if I knew this was the next twenty-five years of my life, I might go insane. As much as the unknown is intimidating, I think I need a bit of mystery in my future just to keep me on my toes.
A while back, I decided to let go of the steering wheel of life and trust in the way things will unfold. I did this because none of the ideas I had about the future ever played out as I had envisioned. You meet a person, and your life takes a left instead of the right you foresaw. An opportunity arises, and you take a right instead of the left you had planned.
If you had told me a year ago that I’d be studying religious scriptures, I would have said you were crazy.
If you had told me five years ago that I’d move back to Florida, I would have said, “Not a chance.”
If you had told me ten years ago that I’d spend a year of my life in Saudi Arabia, I would have said, “Where?”
None of these things were on my radar; they just emerged from the fog before me, and I rolled with them.
Since no one can see what’s coming, my philosophy is now something more like, “Why invest so much energy in mapping out a future that’s ultimately out of our control?”
While others may have more stability in the bedrock of their lives, that element of surprise can strike anyone at any time and shake things up to a jarring degree. I believe it’s healthy to always maintain a sense of non-attachment when it comes to your idea of what’s to come.