Plans aren’t confined to cartographer’s drawings and well-typed itineraries.

Even those of us who speak with bravado of whims and where the winds may carry – we, too, loosely guide ourselves forward based on plans we have made.

Then what happens when our route is changed, our best-laid ideas are misplaced? What happens when an upcoming year of European backpacking is suddenly exchanged for a newborn baby and several years in New Zealand? I had dreams marking at least 365 days of the future, penciled in lightly – but penciled in, none the less. Switching courses is a natural element of every trip; but, I’m realizing, adjusting to a change in direction can be more challenging than any simple ‘go left, now go right’. What causes panic is not so much an unexpected destination, as a fear that this sudden arrival means the journey is over.

May the following travel quotes help us move confidently in whichever new direction awaits . . .

Sometimes, the slightest things change the directions of our lives, the merest breath of a circumstance, a random moment that connects like a meteorite striking the earth. Lives have swiveled and changed direction on the strength of one chance remark. – Bryce Courtenay

If I were a magician, I’d hand out broken compasses. It’s all about misdirection. – Jarod Kintz

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. – Dr. Seuss

I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination. – Jimmy Dean

The freest person in the world is one with an open heart, a broken spirit, and a new direction in which to travel. – Gordon McDonald

We are not retreating – we are advancing in another direction. – Douglas MacArthur

Sometimes we look for those thunderous things to happen in our life for our lives to change or go in the other direction. We seek the miracle. We seek the parting of the seas, the moving of the mountains. But no, it’s  a quiet thing . . . – Ben Vereen

If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading. – Lao Tzu

Your decisions determine where you will or will not be in later days to come. Rise up and direct them well! – Israelmore Ayivor

Going by my past journey, I am not certain where life will take me, what turns and twists will happen; nobody knows where they will end up. As life changes direction, I’ll flow with it. – Katrina Kaif

If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction. – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The only ship you can truly steer in this ocean is the one you’re sailing. Quit trying to alter the winds; harness them. – Richelle E. Goodrich

But beware of this about callings: they may not lead us where we intended to go or even where we want to go. If we choose to follow, we may have to be willing to let go of the life we already planned and accept whatever is waiting for us. And if the calling is true, though we may not have gone where we intended, we will surely end up where we need to be. – Steve Goodier