I am currently traveling with Dr. Suzanne Feeney with a group of eight women students, in a field experience examining women's development, empowerment and micro-finance as its practiced in India. Well practiced in a small are in India primarily in and around Pune.  Suzanne has been studying this issue for many years and in 2007 she took her first group of students with me functioning in a supporting role.  Students arrive today to begin the program and we've been putting last minute touches on our schedule.  One of the lessons of travel in the developing world, really in any different culture, is that you must be prepared to adjust and adapt to different expectations and to different ways of doing and being.  You can have a structure or framework for the day, the week, the work you're planning to do but you must intellectually and emotionally prepare for the particulars to go in a different direction.   I think fundamentally Americans plan and expect things to go according to a plan and then are surprised, shaken up, and even appalled when things don't go accordingly. We're blindsided by the unexpected.  The opposite end of the spectrum is fatalism which leads to a feeling of powerlessness.  So there's a balance to strive for, creating plans and frameworks and allowing the grace of possibility to enter. Viewing the unexpected as opportunities.  In the nonprofit sector (and in business and government) we've been taught to plan as a way to ensure the future. Nothing wrong with that. It's important to set goals and strive for achievement. And a plan can help us weed out the distractions that take us away from the work we want to do, the  mission we want to reach.  I don't surf but I found a useful metaphor in the notion of surfing, riding a wave, keeping your balance, taking in what comes at you while keeping your eye on the horizon - the goal of a good ride and safely reaching shore. We're in a tidal wave of change right now, the ride is wild, the wave may feel out of control. Keep your eyes on the horizon, keep your feet riding the wave. To follow our trip, and where I'll be mostly posting for the next 4 weeks, go to http://wii2009.blogspot.com Happy surfing.