When I talk of spontaneity to those hard-set in the ways of Western culture, the door is often slammed in my face. Of course this is no real door, but
the door to their minds, because in our culture spontaneity is
synonymous with idleness and a life without goals, and many people have
already closed their minds to other possibilities.
To let things be what they
are, to let come what may come, and to ride the wind conjures
visions of bohemians, hippies, gypsies, and bums.
Not someone with goals, with
a plan, with motivation, passion and drive to get from point A to
point B.
I find myself spending a lot
of time refuting this concept of spontaneity. I refute the claim
because it's not true. Or, more specifically, it does not have
to be true. In fact, spontaneity may lead to even more goals,
plans, motivations, passions, and drives—for the right person.
What do I mean by the right
person? Some of us go about success in the wrong way. We try to force
it. We work very hard, living on our to-do lists, and expecting to
get as much out of the system as we put in. When things don't go our
way, we end up frustrated and dejected because this way of operation
is cold and offers very little satisfaction—it merely turns real
life into an assembly line procedure. We continue on with our to-do
list, but with less motivation, more than likely losing the spark we
began with.
The surest way to avoid this
inevitable let-down inherent to our system of “productivity >
enjoyment” is to venture from the regular path, to trust that we will
fly when we do.
I feel as though I live a
very spontaneous life. I still have goals, but I am not tied down to
them. I am free to leave my feet when the spirit takes me, to go headlong into the unknown. If I were simply living life by my to-do list I
would not venture. I would stick to the list.
Living a spontaneous life
means living in a way that the list, if you have one (and I almost always do), is not the
end-all, be-all of reality. It's accepting our human need for
creativity and exploration. Yet spontaneity is not completely
discarding the old forms.
When we have passion for a
thing, it is very easy to spend time with it. I have passion for
exercise. I do not need to keep a detailed to-do list when it comes
to running. I just run. I do so often when I have passion. Many times
in my life I have found that when I try to control how I run, the
distance, the time, and the harder I control these things, the less
joy I get out of running—and therefore the less I run. Despite
detailed goals, I am less motivated. When I just run, I run farther and faster than I would if I approached running
as a chore. I still carry a stop-watch with me, and I still try to
improve from one run to the next, but I don't grow moody if I don't. I
don't make myself. It happens of itself.
Spontaneity increases
passion because it does away with our culture's have-to's. With more
passion, we do not have to guard our steps. We can trust ourselves to
do what we love, because we love doing it, and there are few things
we'd rather do otherwise.
The argument against this
tends to be “What if I find I don't have the passion, even if I
live spontaneously?” My response: “Then why do it?”
We need money to survive in
this world. We must eat, clothe, and house ourselves. Yet how
we make that money is entirely up to what we enjoy doing. If you
don't want to work in a cubicle, don't. If you don't want to be ABC,
but would rather do XYZ, do what you must to get to that point. But
do so spontaneously. Don't try to out-think life. Don't try to trick
the system. Don't do a thing for any other reason than that you find
joy in doing it.
When there is joy—joy
borne of spontaneity—there is a way, a living, a life.
Posts
Well said.
ReplyDeleteLove the post. It is also said that creative minds dislike routine. I follow spontaneity, although i keep a changeable routine too just for the convenience and management of time it offers.
ReplyDeleteI like a little structure in my life, but the structure is spontaneous too. When I feel like having it, I get it. When I feel I need the freedom, I let go of it. I never go out of my way to force it.
DeleteI am more spontaneous...a few days and routine starts to suck. But, routine is a comfort too.
ReplyDeleteThat's true. Structure can be very secure :)
DeleteJ.R., I loved the running analogy you gave here. It's so true! If I get on the elliptical or the treadmill at the gym thinking, "Okay, you must do 25 minutes", by the 15 minute mark, I am saying to myself, "When will this ever end?" However, if I just focus on the music I am listening to and refuse to look at the time clock, I am much more in tune with my body and always able to do more than I thought possible.
ReplyDeleteI think being spontaneous often goes hand in hand with creativity, too. We must never be so set in our ways that we become too rigid and miss out on all the lovely, inspiring thoughts that wish to enter in if only we will be still and allow ourselves the freedom.
Great post!
Yeah! Rigidity kills maneuverability. That's actually a good way to sum it up, and I thank you for writing what you did about creativity.
DeleteTo let things be what they are, to let come what may come, and to ride the wind conjures visions of bohemians, hippies, gypsies, and bums…I guess I must be one of the crazies then! There are people, like us, who are wired for the spontaneous. It’s encoded in our genes to be free-spirited.
ReplyDeleteI don’t undermine goal setting either, but my heart won’t allow formal plans to rule my life. Goals are just handy tools to help us get from point A to B, as you say here. But in the end, we can’t let too much structure keep us in the cage when we can fly! Amen!
We're two of a kind, but not the only two, Debra :D
DeleteI like structure in my life though now, I'm beginning to learn how to loosen up a bit and let spontaneity rule some parts of my life (just for a bit of fun).
ReplyDeleteI wonder if structure is something that is taught to us by the examples our parents set? I mean very rigid, inflexible structure.
DeleteThat's how I roll, on the whim. I do map out what I want to do and where I want to go, but it's like the Pirates Code, it's more of a guideline .
ReplyDeleteWhen I was younger, I'd stick more on the rules. I had long term plans for my life.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I realized that as much as I want my life to go this or that way, something inevitable happens and I'm redirected to another part.
Spontaniety doesn't break structures, I guess, it merely dissuades us of the negativity we feel when one thing doesn't go the way we wished it to be.
I love your point of view!
Delete