Jennifer Russo

I am a planner. Friends often tease me for the fact that I will plan things months ahead, send them calendar invites for things and have itineraries ready to go. I may not always follow my own plan to the letter, but at least I know I have it all laid out.

The thing is though, not everything can be planned. We learned that lesson pretty well last year when anything we had on our calendar was either cancelled or rescheduled to a “who knows when” future date. The unexpected happens sometimes and we can’t control every single outcome. This is a difficult pill to swallow for those of us who like to know what to expect all the time, but it’s just not realistic. 

It wouldn’t really make sense to whine about it (though, I must admit when a concert I was looking forward to was no longer happening, I did whine quite a bit). So, what can we do then? We don’t have to like it, but we can respect it. 

When these unexpected things happen, good and perhaps not so good, it is not those things that determine our path. How we deal with them is what causes us to grow as individuals and leads us forward. We can respect that the world and everything in it is always changing. We can respect that we are always changing too. We can choose to find the best happiness we can despite it all, and we can even determine that we will see where that unexpected turn takes us and make it a whole new adventure.

Sometimes it is good to let go of plans for a minute and see a bigger picture. What may you be missing if you have tunnel vision and only see your checklists and block out the rest? You may pass something by that could have been a wonderful opportunity. You may trip over the stumbling block instead of appreciating it for being there to guide you a different way. However you choose to handle those moments, one thing is certain – there is never a straight road. Eventually that unexpected thing will come. How will you choose to see it?

Peace and Love.