I’ve been trying to arrange a couple of surprises lately, and it feels like the Universe just isn’t cooperating with me.
Last week I mailed a card to a business colleague. It was returned for more postage because of its “irregular size” – seemed like a normal card to me.
Today is my mom’s birthday, and I’ve been planning a visit to surprise her. In addition to my visit, I was trying to orchestrate my grandma (my mom’s mom) to visit on the same weekend. Grandma can’t make it because my aunt (aka Grandma’s chauffeur) can’t arrange her schedule to leave.
Unfortunately, my part of mom’s surprise also went haywire yesterday. One of my parents’ friends passed away on Sunday, and the visitation is scheduled for tonight…. at the same time I’m scheduled to arrive. My dad didn’t want to ruin my surprise, but he was also having difficulty getting my mom to agree to go early to the visitation.
So, I had to tell my mom I was coming home. She was totally surprised. She said my dad hadn’t even whispered a peep about it.
Sometimes the things we try hardest to accomplish don’t happen. It’s a fact of life. When it doesn’t happen the way we want it to happen, it’s still important to recognize all the good that did happen.
With my latest surprises-that-disappeared, I have lots of good…..
My business colleague will still receive her card. Maybe the delay means that she will receive it on the perfect day when she needs some encouragement.
My mom is still thrilled that I’m coming for a visit (she’s especially happy that I’ll be in church on Easter). I will still spend time with the people who matter most to me. I may even gain a new client or two while I’m there.
Next time something goes awry with your plans, STOP complaining and START celebrating!
Find a way to see that what actually happened is BETTER than what you planned.
When you focus on what’s good in the situation, you’ll feel better and it’s more likely you’ll create MORE good things in the future.