Many of us are creatures of habit. We want to believe that we can predict and control our lives. We're encouraged to make five-year, ten-year, twenty-year plans, and then to follow the steps to get exactly what we planned. This type of life is, in a sense, pre-lived. You live it once when you plan it, then again when you live it.

(This could explain the popularity of the forms of yoga that are always the same each time (Bikram, Ashtanga). People can walk into the yoga studio and know exactly what's coming. The practice is pre-practiced.)

But what happens when we give up this planning, and open to mystery instead? Pre-living robs life of its raw power, sapping out its juice so that it feels like "going through the motions." When we don't pre-live our lives, will each moment be that much more vibrant?

From the Radiance Sutras: Toss aside your map of the world. Dare the wild unknown. What if you took a vacation and didn't plan what you would do -- or even where you would sleep? What would your life be like if you had no idea what was coming a year from now? And, really, you don't know, even if you think you do. What if you allowed that uncertainty to make life fresh in each moment?

Today, I'm open to the mystery. Will you meet me there?