Another meaning to manna

I'm a planner.  Sure, I can be spontaneous, but mostly, I know I can be spontaneous when I have planned things out and know what can give or not.  I don't think that's a bad thing.  I think the ability to plan things out and execute said plans is a good skill.  There is another skill; one that requires a lot more flexibility and finesse.  That is the skill of living day to day with contentment.  Apparently, that is the skill I'm being provided the opportunity to work on.

Manna from heaven is a great gift.  All the things the Trail provides on a very regular basis seems like complete magic.  (And it is complete magic, given by very real angels.)  The thing is, however, daily manna does not make much room for the ability to make plans.

Since landing in the ER two weeks ago, my entire hike has changed.  Now, don't get me wrong, my hike has changed several times before, depending on who I was hiking with.  But overall, many things were the same.  People's faces were familiar and I knew most everyone on the Trail.  I knew what I'd eat because I was getting the maildrops I had made up for myself before the trip.  I could easily plan where I'd go into town, when I'd skip a town, where I'd stay in the next hostel, or take a shower, or get to do laundry.  It was fairly easy to plan.

Now, things are a little different.  Odie has a much different hike than I do.  He doesn't do much in the way of planning.  He takes spontaneity to a whole new level.  He lives for the moment, and only the moment.  And, it would seem, he doesn't have much interest in learning the skill of long term planning.  So, I will adjust my hike.

I've had to lessen my grip on my goal to Katahdin, or at least, when and how I get there.  Yes, Katahdin is still the goal for both Odie and I, but I don't keep looking to the end.  I look at tomorrow's hike, and maybe, just maybe, the shadowy idea of the next 2 or 3 days, but certainly no further.

I've had to lessen my grip on what we plan to do each day.  We say, "let's do 20 miles tomorrow."  And I know that there are things that hinder going 20 miles - rain for instance.  What I didn't know was that many, many things could hinder 20 miles - lack of sleep the night before, finding an interesting southbound hiker to smoke with, climbing a fire tower could well take a few hours.  Oh, and sometimes, a section hiker will loan you his truck that's sitting at the trailhead so you can spend the rest of the day shuttling other hikers to various places in town.  No, really, that happened.  We got to borrow a truck from someone we had met for only about 10 minutes.  OK, that's a good reason to not do 20 miles.  How often does the Trail provide a Ford 350?

I'm needing to learn that I am not in control, even of things that I technically could try to be of control of.  Rather, manna from heaven means accepting the place I find myself, looking ahead to goals, but leaving the present moment to present itself for me to simply enjoy.  Odie is fantastic at finding the joy in each moment.  I'm only OK at that.  But I will choose to embrace the opportunity to learn.

Well, apparently, someone made pancakes at this moment, so I'm going to go eat some.  Carpe diem!