HOW TO DEAL WITH THE UNEXPECTED

January 22, 2012

I’m not sure I need any more surprises, but even as I write this, the lights keep flickering, leading me to believe we might lose power any minute.

How apropos.

If we do lose power, so be it – if I’ve learned anything over the past few days, it’s that I will invariably get by.

You see, I was traveling this past week.

What was expected to be a brief, 3-day trip to Asheville, NC turned into a full week away from home.

By the second day of my travels, I suddenly found myself dealing with several unexpected snafus – a huge snowstorm in Seattle, which resulted in delayed travel plans, plus a phone call from my son saying he’d been stricken with a severe case of food poisoning.

Talk about the unexpected!

It was time to take a deep breath and assess my situation. In the end, the experience taught me a few things:

A Perceived Setback Could Be a Blessing in Disguise

In my case, while the blizzard in Seattle prevented my immediate return, it also opened up space for an entirely different opportunity. I flew to Austin, Texas instead, where my son was in need of some TLC.

Likewise, the unwelcome snags, or delays, in your home improvement project might actually lead to an even better solution. Rather than fight it, why not go with the flow?

In my humble opinion, things have a tendency to unfold exactly as they were meant to all along.

Prepare Ahead of Time

Chances are the unexpected is going to happen, especially when you travel.

From now on, I plan to pack an extra change of clothes, even if it seems totally unnecessary. A pair of sandals can’t hurt either, cause you never know where you might end up (it was sunny and 78 degrees in Austin).

When it comes to my Interior Design clients, I often quote an extra week or two for deliveries, because things are entirely out of my control at the manufacturing end – and, well, you just never know.

Be Open to New Experiences

I ended up with a completely different flight plan from what I started out with.

As a result, I met a fascinating, elderly gentleman who owns a farm in North Carolina. He explained that the farm was more of a hobby; the crops they grow – tomatoes, potatoes, corn and the like – are all organic.

Whatever the extended family doesn’t consume is then donated to local nursing or retirement homes, places that don’t have ready access to locally grown, organic produce.

The way he sees it, elderly people dealing with various stages of illness need to nourish themselves with a healthy diet – the fewer pesticides and other harmful ingredients, the better off they are.

It was incredibly gratifying to know of such an individual, who unselfishly offers assistance to those in need.

Just think.

If things had gone as planned – if it hadn’t snowed in Seattle, and my son hadn’t taken ill – I would never have met this individual.

Which brings me to this:  the best thing you can do when the unexpected happens is to simply take it all in stride.

Then welcome with open arms whatever else comes your way.

Categories: Balance & Harmony | Tags: Asheville, delays, home improvement project, how to deal with the unexpected, interior design, Seattle, snafus, snags, snowstorm, TLC, travel, unexpected | 6 Comments »

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