Surrender to Circumstance

There we were me and my husband, looking for my keys in his car because we thought they might've fallen out of my purse. You know the drill; panic sets in, your memory gets foggy due to stress and of course the angst of running late to an appointment or meeting doesn't help. Why does this ALWAY happen at the worst time?!

Anyhow, the real kick in the pants was the added reality that a dear friend of mine visiting from out of town had accidentally grabbed not only my car keys, but my cell phone as well, and left on her 14 state road trip home. Her phone was still sitting there on my counter with no way to get ahold of her (of course my phone was off - not helpful). Our AAA was renewed for the year but they don't have a "Kaari Allen In Case of Emergency" spare set of keys or a copy of my personal cell phone contacts. AAA is good for a tow when you break down (that is, when you can actually drive your car…let alone call them…from your cell phone). So there's that.

Please people, can we all stop right now and go write down our loved ones’ phone numbers on a piece of paper just like in the "old days." I find the helplessness of the 21st-century is quite ironic.

I finally connected with my phone and key-nabbing friends and we decided to Fed Ex everything to each other. Easy, huh? Well, Fed Ex couldn't deliver for 3 days due to the unfortunate circumstances of a ‘no Sunday pick up’.

Was it an inconvenience? You bet. But then, I surrendered to the circumstance that I was forced to reschedule some things. I was still able to do my physical therapy at home and my family was safe and sound. I would have to just sit tight for a few days and re-calibrate.

Thank heaven, Someone knew more about what I needed than I did!

The Dali Lama was recently in town doing an interview. What struck me was his explanation that our “society is attached to outcomes due to fear and unrealistic control over those outcomes.” Hmmmm. Don't know about you, but short of purchasing a crystal ball and giving it any credence whatsoever, I have realized that spending thought, angst and time worrying about what may or may not happen seems silly at best.

Surrendering to the events, circumstances and lack of predictability of tomorrow actually feels really liberating. I understand that it makes me feel safe to know what's in front of me, but so many times, the things that are invisibly transpiring turn out to be SO much better for my own good. Maybe someday I might learn this lesson.

Somewhere in the Bible it says that God only gave us 24 hours in a day for a reason…because that's about all we can handle, and more often than not it's hard to handle even that! Let go and see what happens, it truly is more adventuresome and relaxing that way.

Kaari