“What’s the point in planning, if it could all end at any time?”

Dustin Gorton survived the Columbine massacre at age 18. He learned how fleeting life can be that day. A blog attributes a powerful reflection to him, penned when he turned 36. It reads, “I came away with the [lesson that] death is constantly surrounding us and that there is always a chance, so why plan?” 

18 years later, he realized the answer to his own question. He learned the wrong lesson. He writes:

You make plans to show others how much you love them. You make plans to show yourself that you are worthy of your own love. You make plans because the day is coming that you won’t be able to show others just how much they truly mean to you anymore.

I couldn’t find the primary source to Dustin’s words, but even if they’re not his—the lesson remains extremely valuable. You don’t avoid making plans because life is unpredictable and scary and pointless. You make plans because of all of those things. 

The letter closes off:

Sure – you may die tomorrow… but having made 20 year plans you are saying that you don’t care what half of one hundred is. And you are telling those around you, that you love them enough that you want them to be there for your plans in 20 years…

Don’t let the lesson be that half your life ago, you learned to be more afraid of loving yourself than you are of death. It’s never too late to look in the mirror and smile because you are still here…

When you make a meaningful plan with someone, you’re telling them a story: I love you, I love myself, I want us to share an experience in the future, and I want to keep a relationship with you until then and beyond.

That story is the point of making a plan.