Your Plans Are Going To Get Derailed Sometimes
But you can practice making space for what arises instead
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I’ve been thinking lately about how quickly plans can change.
With the Covid-19 pandemic still at the forefront, along with the constant changes and the uncertainty it brings, I thought back to an event that happened a few years ago.
One minute, I was drinking my coffee and walking the few blocks to get back to my car. The next, my path was blocked by a crime scene — police tape, cruisers, and officers everywhere.
I had parked at a friend’s place the night before and was now coming to get my car to start the drive home from Toronto.
Only now, the only exit from the parking lot I was in was through the crime scene — and there was absolutely no chance of that (likely for many hours, the officers informed me).
Plans Fall Apart
I was powerless.
All the things I was supposed to do that afternoon floated around in my head — errands, work, the organization my schedule desperately needed before the start of another week.
But as I rounded the corner toward my friend’s house, the severity of the incident became clearer.
Cars parked on the street were marked with bullet holes or had smashed windows. Even some windows in the buildings across the street had been hit by flying bullets and were completely shattered. Number markers lined the street, and I had to wait to be escorted into my friend’s place by an officer, who first took down all my information.
We were told that it could take up to 12 hours before the tape would come down and I’d be able to get my car out, so we settled in for a longer-than-expected visit.
The Choice
Upon learning this, I had a choice to make.
Was I going to let this twist ruin my day, even though there was nothing I could do about it?
The me from a few years ago probably would have done exactly that. She would have looked at this as a problem, rather than an opportunity. She would have sat there in her car, ruminating and feeling sorry for herself, wondering what…
