Life is what happens to you when you are making other plans

To me, the saying means there is a tendency for people to become so future oriented that they somehow forget to enjoy the present. The present is really all we creatures of time have. The past is gone. It’ll never be repeated. The future is (as the song “Que sera, sera” suggests) “not ours to see.” “Whatever will be will be.” Furthermore, even the best of plans occasionally (and sometimes more than occasionally) do not come to fruition as planned. Sometimes the results are better than was anticipated, but (perhaps) more often than not, they turn out for the worse.

In other words, even the best intentions go down the crapper, so enjoy the present at the same time you plan for the future. Sometimes we need to anticipate the worst but at the same time hope for the best. I don't infer anything from it. It's pretty straightforward; don't screw around with your life regretting the past or worrying about the future, keep your mind on what you're doing here, now. Many people waste their lives not being present. Yes, yes, yes, you can certainly plan for the future, of course you should; but, don't live in it. You get me? Pay attention to what is going on right now, right here. That's the only sustainable way to live.

If you are busy making other plans, you are not paying attention to now: this is exactly what it means. In other words, if you cannot be here now, how can you make any accurate judgements about the present? Do you see? Does that make sense to you? To me, it means that one can make plans and set goals but that a full life is one that is affected by unforeseen events and circumstances beyond our control. Your plans for medical school end when your mother gets sick.

Your ideal marriage ends when your spouse is unfaithful. Your job takes you to a city where you meet someone special. One day a stray dog follows you home. These unexpected events that you have no control over shape your life. Accidents, miscarriages, illnesses, all things that you don’t anticipate. You can’t predict them; what you think is life is actually you preparing yourself for and responding to these events.

This one (traditionally and most commonly in its true meaning) means something like this: Example: while you are saving your money to buy something like a new car, other things happen during that time frame like things you accomplish doing during that time frame before you buy a new car. Whatever it is you accomplish before you buy the car could be anything - for example you became a more educated person, you found a better job, you finally achieved the “hair of your dreams”, your wardrobe looks better than before and so on.

And things like that, that happen before you reach the time for you to buy that new car you saved money to buy is what is meant by “life happens” meaning what you do in the meantime is just as happening as is the car you actively are saving money to buy. It is not common to do absolutely nothing but wait for your money to add up before you buy the car you want and then do other things for yourself. There's not that much happening in life that way. It is not common to do nothing but wait for one thing. The other meaning this expression has with some people is more on the pessimistic side or not exactly how you wanted things to happen and you usually can recognize in what way this expression is used.

This is an example of the other meaning: While you planned to finish your education, you could not afford it with government assistance like other people still could so you found a job as a check out girl and married the part time pizza driver who didn't get his diploma yet in engineering. Although you may really be in a perfect marriage experience, whether you become more than a check out girl later and “catch up to how much money your husband is making” is really up to you. What you planned to do did not happen exactly how you wanted but something else happened instead.

Well, life is what happens to everyone. It happens too to people ‘making other plans’, but that is their life. Life is whatever we’re doing as our times pass. This observation is not really a profound one. ‘Life is what happens while we’re sitting on the commode.’ While we’re sitting there we could be skydiving or studying with a Guru— doing really important things instead of wasting our time on a commode. But we need to be there! We have a good purpose there.?

There’s a verse in the Bible: “I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for.” - Jeremiah 29:11. What this verse implies is that God alone knows of the plans He has for those who believe in Him. Those plans of God are to bring the faithful to prosperity and not disaster. His plans are to bring about a future that the believers hope for. Note that I am speaking about those who believe in God, not those who do not believe in Him. This verse is addressed to the believers who lived during the time of Jeremiah. And it applies to all those believers living today who believe in the same God who spoke to Jeremiah.

Therefore my answer to this question will not be accepted by those who do not believe in the God of Jeremiah. It would be a good idea then for them to ignore my answer to this question and simply read those answers where God is not involved. I believe in the God of Jeremiah and I consider myself to be among the community of believers that lived during the time of Jeremiah. This verse therefore speaks to me loudly and clearly.