As a computer analyst in New York during my younger days, I was accustomed by habit to plan things in detail ahead of time. But later I realized “planning in detail” was a form of insecurity and fear of the unknown. It makes you lose the excitement of adventure.

So, when I was on the road in Barcelona, Spain, I did not mix with the noisy backpackers from my hostel. I abandoned socializing. I wanted to see Barcelona alone for a change. I went to the tourist office and got a map and some brochures.

But, on second thought, I threw them away. I was going to see Barcelona my way, just walking aimlessly. It was an experiment. I laughed out loud at myself. I was touring Barcelona “by feel,” by pure instinct. After all, I had the psychic gift of serendipity, the accidental discovery of nice places. So, for two days, I walked aimlessly but sensitive to discovering people and places.

I stumbled on the Sagrada Familia church, still half-finished after three decades or so. I was stunned by its unfinished beauty, almost in tears. My daughter would later see it decades after when it was completed. She wept from the beauty she saw.

I stumbled in the evening on the famous Rambla Cataluna, the main night life district, teeming with people. I ate sardinas frescas with red wine at a street stall. Then I stumbled on Barceloneta, the pier area with a lot of fish stalls and children playing football everywhere. Sardinas frescas once more.

Next day, I saw Castell de Montjuic (I hope I have the spelling right), an ancient castle you see by taking a 30-minute cable car over the panorama of the city. Barcelona made me homesick.

The architectural designs of houses and buildings reminded me of Binondo and Ermita in the old section of Manila. I was actually “home,” I said to myself.

I was completely transformed from my New York self. Now, I was bold and daring. I was beginning to realize the meaning of not planning, of walking aimlessly as the best form of discovering beautiful people and places.

I lost my Filipino shyness somehow. I was more reckless and liked myself for it. I was aggressive with people, talking to them even though my Spanish was really bad. I was not embarrassed but proud of it.

When I got back to the hostel, I saw a discarded tourist map and discovered that I had seen all the nice tourist places marked on it on my own. Talk of serendipity. I realized the importance of not planning. I hastily scribbled:

”Feel, don’t think, use your instincts. Defy order and sequence as a way of understanding and achieving order and sequence. Disorder is a form of order, chaos a form of harmony. Random is sometimes better than sequential. One can “leap frog” like Douglas MacArthur. Skip the incidentals and linger in the essentials. In Barcelona it did not matter if I saw the ramblas before the Sagrada Familia. Not planning is a form of planning. It is a retreat, a going back to basics, a defiance of trend.”

In career guide seminars I conducted for new graduates, I always told them, “Don’t jump too eagerly and find yourself stumbling. Do not hurry. Take your time. Travel. Experience other cultures as part of your hands-on education. Listen. Absorb. These become part of your wisdom for choosing a career later.”

My advice to the new graduates: Every path is unique. No one can live your life for you. Gurus can only give tips and guidelines. In the end you fly your own aircraft, you flap your own wings, you watch your own sunset. Find your own path in your own way in your own style.

When you enter the dark forest, good and bad things lurk to make and break your soul. Let courage and risk prevail over caution and fear. Take the chance, you will not regret it. Darkness and light will encompass you. Take wing and catch the wind when it is high. No guts, no glory. Make the Lord your beacon. Gather strength in His grace and everything will fall into place. Believe it. Believe in yourself.

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