Living "Aimlessly"

I confess, I watch The Hills. Usually on reruns or on the computer. But I watch it and find it fascinating. I think it takes me away from reality for a while. Even if you don’t watch it, you still might have heard of Lauren Conrad. Her career as a reality TV star has expanded and she’s on many TV shows and often in celebrity news.
Usually I don’t learn life lessons on The Hills. But I did on the last episode last season.

It was Lauren Conrad’s last show. She went in to talk to her boss, Kelly Cutrone, about trying to figure out what she should do next with her career. Lauren knew what she’d done already but didn’t know where to go next. Kelly suggested “je voudrais flâner,” a French expression for "to walk around aimlessly with out a plan."

Most of us plan, or even over-plan our existence, since planning gives us control.

Or so we think, anyway. When you plan, you know what’s probably going to happen. You take a certain job at what you think is the right time, get married for the same reasons, or whatever else you map out as your life. "To walk around aimlessly with out a plan" can seem scary. Uncertain. Irresponsible. Downright crazy to some.

Yet walking around aimlessly with out a plan can help you see what there is in life.

It helps you stop to smell the rose, to use a cliché expression. And you get to see what possibilities there are, which you’re free to explore since you have no plan they’d have to fit in to. I’m sure that Lauren is financially set enough to take time off from working if she wanted to. More of us aren’t. But you can still walk around aimlessly in every aspect of your life but what pays the rent.

Think about how you’d feel with a blank day planner, at least for a week. Less pressure? A sense of loss? Or giddy at the idea of time, like I feel.

Fear of being lonely can make that an awful thought, but it’s really fun to kind of wing your time. A whole weekend with no plans can lead to finding fun things to do at the last minute that you’ve never thought to do before. It can show you that your own company can be fun. You might meet someone new in your aimless travels. And you might discover something you’re passionate about that can lead to a career change.

Being locked into a one-way life may give you control, but it’s control of things that can limit you. Faith is the antidote!

Faith allows you to try living at least some of the time without a plan. When you trust that you’ll be guided to what’s best for your highest good, you can fly by the seat of your pants, at least a little. If you never do, you can miss out on opportunities that can be life-changing or make you happier than what you planned to have. I thought about “je voudrais flâner” and realized it’s how I’ve lived for years.

Allowing yourself to be guided, instead of always trying to guide your destiny, makes for the happiest life! And, the least disappointment, since you can’t have problems following your plan if you have none. ☺

I drive some people crazy when I go on a trip. I might know the city or country I’m heading to but when they ask what I’ll do I say I’ll find it when I get there. Of course I get some info and may have things I want to see. But no plans. I hate taking tours or doing what I’m supposed to do in a city. I like to travel solo so I can figure out what to do as it comes to me from being there.

Living “je voudrais flâner” teaches you the benefits of being spontaneous. It can lead you to things you didn’t know existed.

I do this with my career too. I’ve no day job since I left DoorMatville. Before that my life was methodically planned. Now I have no steady income or plan for what I’m going to write. As I finished up my last book, I looked up and asked for something good to come. It did! I’m now writing a book that I could have never planned to write, but that is an amazing opportunity that I love doing. Had I planned more, my time wouldn’t have been wide-open to do it.

I have NO DOUBT that God leads my path to live “je voudrais flâner.”

Try to leave some time—on a weekend, after work, etc.—unplanned. Be spontaneous. Live in the moment and let yourself be guided. Ask to be. I always look up and ask for what I want, or for my next step, or a direction to walk in. I’m always led somewhere good. Ya never know where it can lead!!

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