Photo: AlphaTangoBravo / Adam Baker
Sometimes it’s best to let life take you where it is going to take you.
This is the last post I’m writing before embarking on an adventure to places known and unknown.
Starting next week, I’ll no longer have an apartment, or a couch; my mail will only go to my PO Box and my cat Greysey will certainly be rough-housing with my best friend’s cat, (crazy) Bobby. I will bid Fairfax, CA adieu for at least a couple of months, if not longer.
My planned road trip around the US is hardly a plan at all.
I know I’ll be staying with friends in Seattle first, and I have a house-sitting gig in Santa Cruz until the middle of the month. Then, I simply have hope that my car, which has 166,000 miles on it (but hey, it’s a Honda!) will stay strong as I make my way to wherever it is that I find myself going.
Why am I doing this? Today, I asked myself that question for the first real time. Most of my trips are planned pretty well in advance, and are mostly set in stone. Set minus the mishaps that always happen, which mostly end up amusing if you have a safety net. I don’t have much of a safety net this time, but I realized that may be part of the point.
I’m banking on the universe protecting me.
So here, without further mumbo jumbo, are six reasons to travel without a plan.
Photo: wili_hybrid
1. Challenge fear.
The fear crept up on me big-time tonight. Everything that had been keeping my mind busy – gotta pack this, take that to Goodwill, file papers, fill prescriptions – came tumbling down as I related my mom’s worries to a friend.
Her biggest concern is the car, and the possibility of me being stranded, to which I have said over and over, “Of all times in history to be traveling alone around the US, this has got to be the most safe and carefree possible. We have cell coverage in almost every last square inch of this country, and roadside assistance responds day and night.”
But of course, there is the possibility of my timing belt breaking. Or my clutch giving out. Or a million other things that could happen down the street from my house but seem much more scary when alone and far from home.
I realize the car is simply a central point for my (and my mother’s) fear to land. So fear, bring it on. Come on up and out of me, so I can take my soul’s next step.
2. Believe that if you trust in your path, it will reward you in the ways you need most.
For many years, I wasn’t sure I had a path. Now, I understand that everyone does, whether or not they know what it is (and the reality is none of us know exactly what it is). Sometimes, I get scared that I’m veering off course, that what I’m doing doesn’t make any kind of logical sense.
But then I remember that anything that has made me happy in life hasn’t been logical.
But then I remember that anything that has made me happy in life hasn’t been logical. Writing for money is illogical. Dancing (not the table-top variety) for payment is illogical. These were things I wouldn’t have thought possible to do for a living five years ago, even though they have been a part of me my whole life. It was only once I began to trust in the illogical that things began to unfold.
Same goes for traveling. Being illogical means experiencing things beyond your current capacity of knowing. And we all want to go beyond our current capacity, right?
3. Too much restriction can hinder inspiration.
Trip plans are helpful. They are touchstones, a way to get from a. to b., and they fulfill our little pea-brain’s never-ending shouts for stability. But sometimes, making plans creates this need to well…stick to them. Stick to them no matter what.
And when we stick to them no matter what, we can stifle the very part of ourselves that told us to get a move on in the first place. You can forget your purpose, other than to check off that you saw the Eiffel Tower or the Great Wall of China or a live sex show in Amsterdam.
Yes, those live sex shows can be inspirational, but really not for longer than a few minutes.
4. Too much restriction can hinder the spirit.
Contrary to popular belief, our souls lead us through this life. Believe me. That’s why heartbreak happens, we lose jobs, we fight with loved ones – they are all opportunities to learn lessons and become stronger people.
When we attempt to confine our experiences, or to “be safe,” our soul can take offense. There it was, just trying to be in the flow, and we muck it up with our agenda. Then it decides it’s time to show us who is boss.
Photo: travellingtamas
As my friend Theresa and I say all the time, don’t mess with the Trickster. You will be sorry. Instead, be open to the good and the bad in both life and traveling, and I promise the bad won’t seem well, as bad.
5. “If you want God to laugh, tell her your plans.”
Yeah, many of us love to work out every last angle of a trip, where we’ll be at a certain time, what we’ll cover each day. Don’t forget the card with all important numbers and passwords hidden in your underwear is case of the big emergency (not sure where in your underwear, though).
Funny thing is, how often do your plans turn out the way you planned? I feel like the older I get, the more my plans decide to run off and have their own little planning party without me. So that by the time I get to the place I thought I was going, there is usually not even a semblance of what I originally thought I wanted.
Luckily, it is almost always so much better. In other words, you can plan, just don’t get attached.
6. Why not?
This one doesn’t seem to need an explanation. Ok, if you really need one: why not travel without a plan just so you can experience life without plans?
What are some other reasons to travel without a plan? Share your thoughts below.
About the Author
More By This Author
- Are Americans Afraid of Overseas Travel? (11 comments)
- Prostitution Rocks! SuperFreakonomics on the Oldest Profession in the World (10 comments)
- Death Becomes Them: Who are the Highest Earning Saints? (4 comments)
Related Posts
16 Comments... join the discussion!
-
-
Go, Christine! Whenever you start to feel anxiety, just ask yourself, “What would crazy Bobby do?”
↵ -
I’m right there with ya! No plan means you’re available to go on whatever adventure finds you.
↵ -
Sounds like a blast, and great attitude. Have fun, Christine!
I would like to make one comment or those who read this and are thinking of something similar for international travel – I know yours is a US road trip, Christine, and normally I would be all revved up to do just about the same thing other countries too. However, a friend of my boyfriend’s recently made plans to do just that in Europe. She bought a one way ticket to London, had a few nights in a hostel booked in London, then after that planned to spend 2-3 months traveling around Europe, at her own paces, going where she felt like it and staying however long she wanted.Customs and Immigration, however, disagreed. When she disembarked her plane and went through immigrations, the second they saw her one-way ticket and her inability to produce reservations or an address beyond a few days, they immediately took her off into a room where they questioned her for eight hours. Then, they put her on a plane back home, where she is this very moment. So, just a tip or warning regarding international travel….I guess the UK is really sticky these days about people just coming in with no plan, like they think they’re going to work or something. Who knows.
Thanks for the great article!
↵ -
Very nice, but the bigger question is: will you pass through Texas?
↵ -
I believe its is one of the best ways to travel.
You never know what or who you may encounter while you are traveling, and those events can make the travel adventure much more memorable and unique.
I always keep it loose while traveling with just some general ideas of where and what to see and visit, and always allowing for changes.
Enjoy your adventure.
↵ -
Good luck with your trip. I hope your honda holds up. Im actually leaving for my trip tomorow to north carolina. all i know is point a and point b (the beach at hatteras national park). I really believe that traveling without a plan opens that world up to you and that some unexpected yet hopefully things will happen. the best part about not having a plan is that if you see somewhere on your way that you like alot, you can stop check it without having to worry about messing up plans, like you said, you can travel at your own pace.
↵ -
Have fun on your trip! Traveling without a plan can be exciting. You never know what you’ll discover. If you stick to your plan, you could miss out on great conversations and people. Maybe you wouldn’t discover that “gem” of a bookstore or restaurant. The possibilities are endless. Plus, you’ll have some great travel writing from your experience.
BTW: Can’t believe the “one-way” ticket story about Europe — bummer! Hopefully the UK will loosen up a bit :0)
↵ -
I just spent a weekend at an improv workshop, learning the ropes and I learned some powerful ideas that improv offers that could be used in life. In improv storytelling, you cooperate to create a story on the spot. Nobody knows what will happen next because you’re responding to each other, rather than pre-planning a script. And like in life, the risk is that you might “fail”, but doing improv, it becomes clear that the whole idea of failure is made up – what happens happens and we don’t have to judge it a success or a failure. We can instead be in the moment and enjoy it and be fully aware to responding to only the next thing, rather than planning everything in advance. I particularly like the idea of applying this to travel. I think not having a plan makes you so much more aware of the present and you take in so much more info, because you don’t have as many assumptions filtering the information to make it fit your plan.
Great post – thanks, Christine
Cath
↵ -
Yes, it is good to travel without having every second of every day planned out, but it is good to have some general plan. If you don’t have some kind of general plan or direction to go, you will feel like you are just wondering around and being unproductive.
I recently returned from a six month trip from the top of Mexico to Costa Rica, and I definitely felt at times like I was just wondering around aimlessly. Humans are made to be productive. Just try traveling for long-term and see what works for you.
↵ -
No plan is a good thing. Sometimes you can feel like you are aimlessly wandering but usually life intervenes and shows you what you haven’t been looking for… if that make any sense.
↵ -
This is the kind of mentality that I really admire, but haven’t completely adopted yet. Traveling without a plan can lead to some of the most memorable experiences. I think I’ll take the leap and not worry about plans when it comes time for my next trip
↵ -
Embarking on an adventure without a plan….wow! This seems to be cool. Personally, I would have been too afraid to do that. By the way i hope that the timing belt in your Honda (my preferred car brand) didn’t let you down. Travelling all alone in a country as huge as USA demands experience and guts. It means that you must have faced your fears head on in the past. Precaucious by nature, i might never set out without a plan, but was really nice knowing about your point of views….
↵ -
Christine, I wish I was as brave as you. No doubt your trip will be a brilliant one, and it’ll all be down to unwavering confidence and belief in the kindness of fate!
Just as a precaution, should anything happen to your car, and you need to hire one, Auto Europe has just launched a new jargon-busting car hire guide (the Car Rental Roadmap). It’s worth checking out to make sure you don’t get any nasty surprises in the form of hidden costs: http://www.auto-europe.co.uk/pdf/Car-Hire-Made-Easy.pdf
↵ -
This is so exciting for you. I’m on a no-plans trip myself right now, and the one plan I tried to make (booking accommodation in Shenzhen, China) even failed me. But the mix up that occurred has led me to this fantastic hotel which is probably better than the one I tried to book. Sure, no-plan travelling can get super stressful and pretty scary, but its incredibly rewarding and at least in the US you can speak your own language!
↵ -
LOVED this post…
…it can be so easy to lose ourselves, our spirit in the mindless insanity of the mundane, and leave in search of greener pastures…
…only to find out that the grass is greener on the other side because the shit is deeper!
…then we set about busily rebuilding old patterns atop a new pile of shit – the same relationships with different names and faces; the same scared existence in a new town…
Surrendering to the open road and what lies around the next bend allows us to shed old skins and try out new ones, to see which fit we like best:
* * * * * * * * * * * *
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” -Anais Nin-
…enjoy your journey!
↵
