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.
Kathleen
Thank you for sharing your article — Loved the topic of resistance or accept it as is, a great lesson and reminder.
Bonnie
Thanks for your comments Bonnie. Today is another day of acceptance as we are still without power. 🙂
I love the paragraph about resistance! You are so correct. When we resist our creativity and resourcefulness are stopped in their tracks. Maybe we all need lessons like this once in a while to remind us. I am so sorry for you and I am choosing to accept the reminder (even without the pain). Thanks for choosing to write about it even while you are stuck in the middle.
I know it is no fun dealing with horses and other outside critters when this happens. We can’t just bring them in to the house next to the fire like we can with our cats and dogs.
Thanks Lauren. We are still “stuck in the middle” of the power outage. Fortunately today was a day of catch up so I suppose it is time to catch up to “on the back burner” things.
Excellent post, Kathleen!
Unconditional Acceptance is by far my top favorite life lesson gained from my years of learning and practicing Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT):
– Unconditional Self-Acceptance (USA)
– Unconditional Acceptance of Others (UAO)
Not to say that I always find it simple and easy to practice Unconditional Acceptance – very, very far from that!
But if “nothing is more important than that I feel good” – a great lesson I have learned from Abraham-Hicks – then do I really have the choice to stop resisting and accept what is?
I have found this specific question to be a great winner for me every time I ask it to myself!
On my way now to share your wisdom all around social medias!
Love and light,
Chantal
Thank you Chantal for your insights and comments. I am able to again be in total acceptance in that we are now moving into day 3 of no power. At the 48 hour mark and visualizing our lights turning on. 🙂
It is easy to accept what is happening when it is what we want. The true test is to be in acceptance when what we want is not happening.
If we are open to what is, no matter what the outside evidence we can learn and grow.
Excellent post, Kathleen. The Universe gifts us with these situations that call upon extreme resilience too. Resistance + creativity + acceptance + resilience + action in the face of the unknown. I love the mix of these personal concepts and behaviors that are inherent in your blog post and as noted by other commenters too. Great food for thought and as a personal way of being in the world too. You model all these concepts, seemingly with such joy and ease. Thank you, Kathleen!