Choosing from a spectrum

Proverbs reflect the values of people and are good to follow many times.  A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush is a saying worth understanding and valuable when it comes to negotiating a deal involving money.   But, proverbs are only as good as the people's experience that make them up.  When experiences differ, then proverbs differ.  And those proverbs seem to reflect the rub in life.  Some things in life derive from spontaneity, passion, love for the moment, and fire in the soul.  Other things are driven by planning, implementation, and determination.  Thus, Plan your work, work your plan is in diametric opposition to Stop and smell the roses.  So are the phrases, Stay on the beaten path and The beautiful things in life are off the beaten path.  The proverb The best way to project the future is to look at the past ignores completely the idea that The only constant in life is change.  Some people see decision making as choosing between two colors, black and white.  Others approach decision making as choosing from a whole spectrum of colors, each color rendering scenes having their own distinct and particular beauty. 

I lived a rather principled life early on, but in doing so I suppressed much of the input given to me by my heart.  I was wrong.  That led to a Spartan life.  While hedonism is probably the opposite extreme, guided only by desire, there is something to be said for allowing passion and beauty to balance the austere principles.  Every life should enjoy the beauty and hope of springtime, not merely the winter of despair, the dropping leaves of autumn, or the dog days of summer.  Listening to the heart permits us to drink from the wellspring of life.