That Didn’t Go as Planned

When what you planned doesn’t work, what you do next matters.

Photo by Mikesh Kaos on Unsplash

I had a plan. That plan was going to help me ease some burdens and pressures. It was going to make life easier, more comfortable, and open several doors to places I intend to go. And what I had planned would also prove once again that consciousness creates reality.

Note the past-tense usage of “planned.” Because that didn’t go as planned. And the thing I counted on and expected to happen didn’t.

I’m only human. I had a momentary outburst of anger, followed by annoyance and self-criticism because it didn’t go as planned. Had I allowed it, this could have easily spiraled down to self-pity, blame, depression, and numerous other negative feelings that, though valid, help nothing.

I paused. Then I took a deep breath. I refocused on the work at hand and moved on. But I still asked the question — now what?

In the medieval reenactment society that I’ve been participating in for almost 30 years, I do rapier combat (fencing). While we mostly have one-on-one fights, we also do melee combat involving two-on-two up to a hundred-plus against another hundred-plus.

In those larger melees, we often formulate plans and strategies to meet the objective — capture the flag, “kill” ’em all…