Wild Abandon

Did you know that the word "abandon" is both a verb and a noun? Frequently in conversation, people use abandon as a verb, meaning to give up a course of action, a practice, or a way of thinking completely.

I like to use the more strength-based noun definition of abandon -- the complete lack of inhibition or restraint.

As a documented control freak, letting go is not an easy thing for me to do. I'm a planner, especially well-known for contingency planning and for looking 5-10 steps ahead all the time. While this kind of thinking can be very comforting to me, it can also add stress to my life. In the long term, I don't think that it is very healthy for me or any of us for life to be so pre-planned and orchestrated.

Instead, we should act with abandon occasionally, leaving life up to fate and unforeseen circumstances. We shouldn't try so hard to see around blind corners and just be more trusting of what we can't see.

I'd like to be more like this Richard MacDonald sculpture, arms and legs thrown in the air and body in a posture of wild abandon. Abandon doesn't need to be a permanent condition or always wild. It can be a more tolerable and occasional reprieve from the inevitable stresses of a too structured life.