Planning for the Future

I have frequently written about the need to plan your life and not be a floating feather on the breeze, as the life of Forest Gump was portrayed.  It seemed Forest always landed in the right place at the right time.  Despite his physical and mental challenges, he lived a kind of charmed life that most of us would envy.  Forest had no long-term plans.  For him, “life was like a box of chocolates…you never know what you’re going to get”. The fictional character is rewarded by blessings and good fortune as he floated through life. Life tragedies become new opportunities as he proceeds from one phase of his life to the next.

In the real world, of course, we don’t bank on winning the lottery to achieve our goals. We realize our dreams and ambitions through our own hard work and determination.  It’s nice to be lucky, but we don’t count on it. In the normal course of our life we figure out the steps necessary to succeed and, one by one, take those steps toward realizing our goals.

The life you lead has a lot to do with the choices you make.  Luck plays a part, and I know I am blessed, but as my father would often say, “you make your own luck”. I would add, “… both good and bad”.

When I was diagnosed with lung cancer, the cruelest side effect was my inability to plan ahead.  I was stuck scheduling my life around treatments and doctor appointments. I could not think past the next month, not knowing what would come next.  It took time for me to look beyond a year, and ever since I won back my life, I have not stopped planning for what comes next.  It’s a blessing to once again have the ability to plan for the future. No one is going to live forever, but we will live longer and happier lives if we wake up each day with purpose.

I have exactly 1728 days to my retirement date of October 16, 2020. Between now and then I am planning to continue to live an active life and travel as much as I can.  But I am not waiting until I retire to hit all the travel destinations on my bucket list. What if I relapse before I retire? What if my health declines to the point where I can’t travel anymore? I don’t want to take the chance of not living out some of my life’s ambitions.

Growing up I wanted to work in international business and travel the world. I realized that ambition in the first half of my career.  Circumstances lead me to leave Japan and return to the US to be near my parents here in Florida.  But my dreams of living an international life have never really faded.

Yoko can attest to the fact that I frequently wake up dreaming about Japan, a place where I lived a good portion of my adult life. But I also have a deep desire to see other places around the world.  When I worked in Tokyo, I frequented countries on the Pacific Rim, including China, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, The Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore. I still want to take the Trans-Siberian Railroad from Vladivostok to Moscow.  I have also dreamed about riding horseback in Mongolia, visiting India and Nepal, and going on an African safari.  I also want to walk the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Maybe one day I will. 

My daughter June and her betrothed are planning a fall wedding in Jackson Hole, Wyoming this year.  It is one of the most beautiful spots on the face of the earth, where we once had a second home.  I am looking forward to an intimate wedding celebration with our closest friends and family this fall.  June will be the last of my three daughters to get married, marking another milestone in my post-cancer life.

Today I made reservations to take a 15 day tour of the Holy Land. The excursion takes us to Egypt, Jordan, and Israel, following the biblical path of the exodus. After that we plan to fly to Dubai for a little rest and relaxation before returning home. Yoko and I have talked about going to Middle East for years. We’ve now finally made plans to do it and I’m pumped for yet one more life adventure!