Riding the Rapids or Falling Into the River?

The sun peeps out of a cloud-filled sky. Surprise! That moment catches us unaware. We might have been expecting a deluge of rain. Instead we got the smile of sun. Surprises astonish and amaze…at times they fill us with awe. The “good” surprise may fill us with such delight that our eyes sparkle with unshed tears, our heart is lifted in unheard song, and we laugh with childlike wonder.

A surprise may even have an uncomfortable shock element. In other moments the surprise finds us scrambling for an immediate, unplanned response. These moments of surprise are often the greatest lessons and challenges of our life. They seemingly come out of nowhere and plop unceremoniously at our feet. “Egad,” we might groan as we wade through the initial reverberations of the surprise. Moments or even days later, we may still be feeling the repercussions.

“Surprise,” whispers the voice of the Divine. With that single word, we are propelled into an adventure. Does the adventure require that we float down the river eagerly anticipating what lies around the bend, or do we choose the safer walk on the bank? Do we ride the rapids keeping an eager eye out for the treasures floating in the current or do we take the safer course on land? If we choose the seeming safety of land, what happens when we slip on mud and splash into the rapidly flowing water? As we bob in the river desperately trying to keep our head above water, we may discover the driftwood we cling to holds the key to unlocking this life challenge. Unless we had slipped, we might never had discovered it.

Even when we choose to walk a surprise-less path, challenges crop up unaware. We can decide to ignore them until we slip through the mud and fall head first into fast running, cold water. We can choose to seek out the challenges within the surprise as soon as they are revealed thus meeting the challenge aware. In our awareness we draw upon our courage. Through our courage we acknowledge our fear and move through the challenge of the surprise. Only then do we know exhilaration of curious daring and limitless possibility.

Surprise wrapped in any packing is still a surprise. Those occurrences happen without warning; each catches us unaware and triggers many feelings inside of us.  Each presents many opportunities for transformation on our life path. The nature of our life is one of surprise. Each surprise invites us to rediscover our balance and laugh from the sheer joy of living. Intuition is our navigation tool as we ride the rapids of welcomed and unwelcomed surprises. Journey within this lifelong adventure. 

With curious daring, Vanessa