I struggle with what I call “future talk.” Those conversations that find themselves planted firmly in a future that’s not here yet. It is my personal belief that not one of us can predict, much less control the future. We can have hunches and ideas, make and execute plans, but if you’ve lived very long on this earth, you know, we aren’t in control. And if you think we or you are, then just keep living a little longer. It’s not that I’m betting against you. It’s just that I know what I’ve seen.

But while I struggle with future talk, I also have dreams and desires that I hope come to pass in days to come, otherwise known as my future. So how do you reconcile the two, if that’s even possible? The best way, or maybe I should say the sanest way I’ve found is to dream and plan in general ways with the realization that the details often have a mind of their own. That doesn’t make those dreams or desires any less strong, but it does keep them humble, a word derived from the Latin humus, which means “on the ground.” In other words, such future-oriented thinking and living keeps you grounded. And that’s good.

So you rise each morning and set about making decisions either in the general direction of your hopes and dreams, or opposed to them. Why we would make the latter kind, I don’t know, but we do self-sabotage quite often. But hopefully most all our choices reflect where we want to go. How we’ll get there, and what that will look like along the way? That’s where the fun comes into play, also known as the adventure. Again, it doesn’t mean you don’t have a plan, but it’s best, well, I’ll let those rock’n’roll philosophers otherwise known as ELO and 38 Special impart their wisdom here:

Don’t budge on where you want to go. At the same time, don’t cling too tightly to your plans as you confidently proceed in the direction of that desired future. Stay open-handed about things, open-minded is even better. Some claim the destination is not important, but rather the journey. I say it’s both, and a tightly-loosely approach to the future makes for some great stories along the way, and some wonderful memories once you get there.