Life is Full of Surprises
Someone recently told me they hated surprises. It's not the first time I've heard that and I always have to restrain myself from laughing because I know they're very serious. My guess is that it make them feel vulnerable and unsure of how to act or respond. The truth is, life throws us surprises all the time.
When we get up in the morning and it's sunny after the forecast said "rain" --- that's a surprise.
When we get in our car and it won't start and we have to call AAA --- that's a surprise.
No matter how much we think we are planning, life is always presenting us with things we couldn't or didn't expect. Even going to the same job everyday is really an adventure in some ways. We might think we're going to have lunch at a certain time and it doesn't work out or someone with whom we usually collaborate may be out sick.
What's interesting about this is, even though we might not give ourselves credit for it, we adapt and make allowances. If we don't, it only adds to the stress in our lives.
There is a time and place for plans. We couldn't pull off an event, wedding, vacation, or even our day-to-day if we didn't imagine what we want and how it could happen. Then, we work on the details. That could be something as simple as making sure we have clean clothes to wear on the job or as complicated as ordering food and flowers and making sure the timing is right. But, what happens if even with a blueprint, something shifts? What if the outfit we picked up from the cleaner's still has a stain on it? Or, there is a certain hors d'oeuvre we wanted to serve that's just not available on the day of the party?
We have two options: We can rant and rave and allow the situation to take up a chunk of our time while we complain. OR, we can express our dismay, as in "oh, crap", take a deep breath and figure out the what next. The key here is to truly move on. Sometimes, even though we pick out another outfit, we can get caught up in kvetching about it, off and on, for the rest of the day. As Elsa sings in Frozen, "Let it go". While we get stuck on what we didn't want, we are usually missing something awesome.
Another common response to one of life's surprises is, "this ruins everything". Really?!? Not being able to have bacon wrapped scallops makes the event a bust?!? I really don't think so --- unless we make it so. What about those yummy crab rangoons or seeing some of your favorite people?
This week's MQ was:
"Learn to embrace the element of surprise.
Start trusting that a positive outcome will manifest,
not necessarily the specific outcome you envisioned."
There's another saying that I love: "We make plans and the gods and goddesses laugh." I always think of this when I'm on one of my escapades and it usually comforts me because I trust that my angels and deities that look over me are smarter and wiser than I am. I've often found that the outcome I might have imagined pales next to what life has in store for me.
Begin thinking in terms of the Universe offering up its own variety of the unexpected. Don't take it personally while, at the same time, play with looking forward to being amazed. Relax into it. Let yourself feel unprepared. Enjoy being human on a fascinating ride. Here's one more quote for you:
"Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out."
- John Wooden, 1910-2010, Basketball coach
This is what I wish for you.
Love and Sparkles,
