Do you resist or accept the unexpected?

What do you when plans get thrown to the wind? Do you resist, fight it and wonder “Why is this happening to me?” Or do you simply accept it and choose to do something else?

Today was such a day for me. I live in an area where we rarely get snow. When we do it’s often an extremely light dusting. Today I woke to about eight inches of snow, branches breaking on trees and subsequently losing power. The snow was coming down fast and furious with no end in sight.

Admittedly, I was very frustrated when I learned that I would likely be without power today. My indication was the lights flickering ever so slightly.

My frustration was a result of having my day all planned out. I had a teleseminar with a publisher as my featured expert with over 600 participants scheduled to listen in.

I had a webinar scheduled for later in the day with an expert from the other side of the globe. Coordinating her schedule and mine was not the easiest to do. We are both very busy and finding a time that worked for the two of us was a balancing act. But alas, I had to postpone both events “just in case.”

Within 30 minutes of letting the experts and all the participants know I may be without power we had a complete power outage. As I write this I am still without power and had to go to another location to post this.

Hmmm. There’s something to be said for 3G. Things don’t always turn out like we want or expect. Yet, if we are willing to accept the situation we can be much more resourceful than if we resist.

Resistance does not allow for our thinking to be clear. Resistance prevents creativity.

Resistance holds us back from our greatest good. Once I accepted the situation I decided this was a great time to read, write and chill. Little did I know how long I would be “chilling” for.

Yet, if my power were not out I would not be writing this post. If my power were not out I would not be simply being with what is.

Lots of people would think all you do on a snow day is throw snowballs. However, not all is fun and games with the snowfall. It’s about doing what is most important when life throws us a curve ball.

For us it was shaking snow off tree branches to prevent possible danger to the horses, the barn and the fences. It’s being prepared as the river rises and has already crested.

It was also about getting our home warm with a nice fire in the fireplace. Definitely a priority in that I have no idea how long we will be without power. A priority was making sure all the critters were fed and taken care of.

So here I am, not knowing when our power will be on, but happy I am not in resistance.
Are there things you are resisting simply because they are not turning out the way you want or expect? Or are you taking stock of your present situation and aligning your actions with what is really a priority. In all of this the greatest priority for me is giving thanks.

As trite as this may seem the truth is when I am in a state of gratitude I can find the entire situation manageable and truly a blessing.

How do you handle the unexpected? Comments and insights welcome and encouraged.