I am not, in normal life, a spontaneous person. As much as I complain about the trudge of the usual ruts life settles into, there is comfort in familiarity. So this past weekend was planned much the same: clean up around the yard preparing for autumn, have an overdue dinner-party with friends, and fit in some work.
Suddenly, Thursday, mid-morning, friends have to cancel. Thursday 5pm, decision made to accept invite with family to the mountains. Friday morning, up and out of the house before 7am. This was then followed by an 8 hour drive (with 2 stops, but still – hubby fibbed when he claimed 5 hours!). We reached the mountain resort at around 3:30pm on Friday, and had to turn around and drive back Sunday (yep, another 8 hours). We were tired, I’ve somehow developed a cold, and yet, it was refreshing and different, a mini-holiday despite the drive.
Which made me think about the advantages of spontaneity. While in life I generally stick to the plan, in writing I’m much more likely to go where whim strikes me. Sometimes this is to my detriment (and requiring lots of rewrites … or deletions). Sometimes, though, following the flow of a thought, or listening to the quiet voice of our heart leads us somewhere more interesting, to something other than what we expected. 
Like this weekend, and the sudden adventure. Yes, if I’d stayed home, I may have been rested enough to have shaken off the cold. We probably would have cleaned up the yard, done lots of things on the “this should be done” list. Yet we would have missed the “ooh!” of our two-year old as she saw the mountains for the first time. Her giggles as a goat licked her hand. Her joy swimming and generally getting spoiled. We wouldn’t have started to anticipate my brother’s wedding with greater excitement – now we’ve seen where it will be held, and can imagine just how marvelous it’s going to be.
There’s something to be said for a little spontaneity.
What say you? Are you spontaneous in life? In your writing? Do you stick to the plan in life and work? I love to hear from you. 🙂
Thanks so much for reading. Have a great week, and hope you find a bit of spontaneity and happiness.
