When you are busy making other plans....

Last week, I took an impromptu trip to Nantucket Island.  I love to be in a summertime location after the season is over.  It invites you to enjoy it the way locals do, without all the hustle and bustle.  After a great visit I mis-planned my departure and ended up missing my scheduled mid-day ferry back to the mainland.  I was frazzled and frustrated because the mistake would cost me over three hours and would have me driving and returning home very late, compromising my next day and presenting a variety of logistical challenges.  

So I waited, and I shopped, and I beat myself up for my poor planning… for about  three hours. 

As we set out on the now evening ferry, we were engulfed in the most beautiful sunset, the sky completely lit with oranges, pinks and grays as the sun sank silently into the water.  It was truly breath-taking.  As the wind swept across the boat’s deck, and I made my way back inside the ferry, I was suddenly grateful for the delay and the beauty of that moment.  I spent the remainder of my trip back reflecting on the times when a change in plans had actually brought me something good.  

I thought  about other "good somethings"..…

• The unexpected business trips that came at the worst possible times and yet allowed me to see parts of the world I had never been to.

• I thought about thunderstorms and power outages that invited me to stop answering my emails and to build pillow forts with my kids instead.

• I thought about a friend who reminisces about a rainy shore vacation that had her children dancing and laughing in flooded puddles.  They were sad when the sun came out…

Inconveniences allow us to hit the “pause” button if we let ourselves appreciate the gap.  

In order to see the blessing you need to:

• Challenge your creativity to minimize the disruption.  Look for new ways to solve the problem by letting go of “plan A”.

• Work out our new plans and let the frustration go.  Remove the negative emotion from your thinking and stay open.

• Stay away from critical thinking and blaming. Things happen to everyone. Seeking to assign blame will only reinforce the negativity.

• Once you have a new plan, slow your thinking and look for any moment of solace in the current circumstance. Take a breath, read a book, write a letter, meditate, appreciate nature, or sightsee, have a conversation, connect with someone you haven’t seen or spoken with. Pause.

Life seldom goes the way we plan.  Our plans can fail us and these disruptions can be very difficult to weather. There are beautiful opportunities in most inconveniences.  That is not to say that the outcome is always better or even good for that matter.  However, if we can find something peaceful or reassuring or beautiful in those moments of change, it can keep us resilient and it fortifies us for the next inconvenience that is likely just around the bend.

Or, as John Lennon once said, 

“Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans”

image credit: my iphone