Unplanning Ourselves

Over the weekend, I had the chance to sit down and read. Yet, instead of picking up one of the many books waiting patiently to be read, I was called to a well-worn, much thumbed through copy of The Yamas & Niyamas by Deborah Adele. I suspect the reason this book is such a staple in my studies and practice is that every time I pick it up I read something new. Literally. It as if what I need to hear is hidden in these pages until just that moment when I am open to reading it.So this weekend, I pick up my book, open randomly and read, "rather than planning ourselves, what if we practiced unplanning ourselves."While my physical self remained composed and pretended to be normal, my soul jumped up, shouted "YES!" and did a fist pump worthy of Judd Nelson and The Breakfast Club.Have you ever noticed the endless lists we impose on ourselves? Things we will do, ways we will behave, how we will improve... On and on the list grows and likely the more and more unhappy we become. Always striving to attain - a better pose, a bigger bank account, a more impressive job title.Instead of planning ourselves, can we unplan? Unpack some of that pressure and see what lies beneath? Can we love our present selves for exactly who we are, as imperfect and perfect as we are?With this lightness, might we fly just a little higher?As I sit here writing this, a friend has come up to say hello and shared this quote from The Upanishads:"Those who know the self & those who know it not, do the same thing, but it is not the same: The act done with knowledge, with inner awareness and faith, grows in power."Let's unplan ourselves and know ourselves.