Plan to Be Surprised

April 13th, 2008 · 5 Comments

Stop expecting things; practice anticipating.
Don’t try to control people; find ways to set them free.
Trust more; plan to be surprised.

Last night we watched the movie, Dan in Real Life, which ended with Dan writing this advice to people who naturally want order and control: “Plan to be surprised.” It’s a great line worth repeating, so I added a couple more thoughts that the phrase bringsto mind and here you go. BTW, we loved the movie. I jumped off the sofa laughing several times (I do that sometimes). It’s unbelievable but real, you know; hokey in the way life can actually be.

Back to the point, it’s so easy to settle for the best that I can expect (and then try to force others to comply). To accept order in exchange for mediocrity both for myself and others (or performance in exchange for embracing the life that’s been given to me). Anticipation requires trust and letting go (as do faith, love, and many a good thing) with no guarantees except that Love will have it’s way.

Tags: reflections

5 responses so far ↓

1 Monica // Jul 13, 2009 at 10:44 am

heey, i´ve just read your post, sorry if my english is bad, i am from Argentina, i watched that movie last night and today something bad hapenned to me… and that same phrase came to me .. so i google it because i couldn´t remember it well .. and i just wanted to say i like verymuch what you wrote, and i´m surprised of how some things just hapenned.. in the moment you need
2 David // Nov 2, 2009 at 6:07 am

I saw the movie and i really loved it….. liked ur thoughts too…. see ya
3 Kasia // Feb 19, 2010 at 1:53 am

I have watched the same movie and remember the same fraze PLAN IS TO BE SURPRISED Every day I am thankfull for all suprises
4 ducquan // Feb 19, 2010 at 2:19 am

It’s the best sentence of this movie. I love it and I love your sharing
5 OZ // Jun 29, 2010 at 12:43 am

I have watched too.And i’m very impressed.And I said;Love is the more important than other things.Everything must do for all loves.İts worth.But i cant see anymore really lover …Love was over…Nice sentences and nice film,thank u…