Lately I have been surprised, repeatedly, by the events of my life. For good and bad, and sometimes just….sideways, things have not been going as I had thought they might. Things as small as a conversation, or getting sick, or as large as getting an internship at the place I’d been wanting to work for ages.
I did not see these things coming.
Last week I was sick. Super sick. (I was in bed for 42 hours, unable to move even the 10 or so feet from my bed to the couch. Gross, I know.) I didn’t even have the energy to read, so I watched a ridiculously large number of episodes of TV online.
It wasn’t until later, when I was finally feeling better, that I began to ponder my illness. Not in a “Why did I have to get sick?” type of way, but in a “I can’t believe I was in bed that long” type of way.
Surprise!
Getting the flu or a cold isn’t one of those things we can see coming a long way out and plan ahead for. It isn’t something we can control, or pick when it happens so it doesn’t fall over a certain event or a really busy week. And, although I initially thought I could will myself to feel better in time for this or that, my illness did not leave room for such silly things.
Lots of other things in life, both lovely ones and pointy ugly hurty ones, come along in such a fashion. Unexpected, unplanned, with no regard for whatever else is going on in life already. At times all we can do is pull up the covers and hunker down, waiting for these things to take their course. Sometimes though we are fortunate enough to be able to dance around, sing a song, and rejoice in the surprise.
Or maybe, there can be some sort of good in all the surprises. Even the bad ones often carry a glimmer of hope or sunshine that we wouldn’t have noticed otherwise. Sometimes the bad things force us to appreciate the smallest of good things.
Getting sick allowed me to appreciate my awesome mom (who drove out to bring me crackers, bread, 7Up, and mashed potatoes, despite the rainy conditions), a comfy bed, and funny TV shows.
Surprise.
Til next time…
~Brianna!~
The Art of Becoming 