Unexpected Beauty

Life is predicable at times and full of wonder too.  It’s the unexpected privations that normally hit us the hardest. As long as we’re alive, there will always be pleasant surprises and unforeseen hardships that are simply a part of life.

 

Pleasant surprises are when you run into a friend you haven’t seen in a long time. finding $20 in a pair of pants you haven’t worn in a few weeks, buying a $1 scratch ticket and revealing that you just won $100, hitting a drive on a par 3 and seeing it roll into the cup for a hole-in-one, receiving a bonus at work that you had no idea was coming your way.  These are easy to live with.  In fact, we all wish pleasant surprises came our way ever day!

Unexpected hardships are tougher to deal with, however.  Getting word that your grandpa just passed away when you had spoken to him the previous evening, receiving a note from the company you work for that they are closing shop and laying off all the workers in two weeks, discovering that your child has a grave illness.  These unexpected moments are tough to take; they take an emotional toll on your mind, your heart, and your soul.

Pleasant surprises are something that we love to share with others.  It fun to let those close to us know about our recent fortune.  It’s harder, however, to talk to someone about tragedies that befall us.

Have you ever stopped to think that things may happen for a reason?  Good things that come our way can be perceived as something that we may be entitled to, or we’ve earned them because we’re good people – we stop to help an elderly person cross the street, we chase down someone that left their phone on top of the gas pump, we stop to help a family change a flat tire.  Why wouldn’t we feel entitled to some rewards that come our way, right?

But what about those times when hardships hit us when we least expect it.  We tend to fold inwardly, isolating ourselves from others – afraid that they may see our suffering and judge us somehow.  That’s where unexpected beauty steps in.  It’s those moments when you realize that you have someone to fall back on and help you through the challenges and difficulties of the unexpected adversity, when someone that you least expect is willing to talk you through it all with compassion and grace, when a person outside your immediate circle holds your hand and loves you unconditionally, where you’re allowed to shed tears, scream at the world and know that your emotions are safe with them.  That is unexpected beauty – a gift when you least expect or feel unworthy of it.

All of us from time-to-time will feel as if our whole world is crashing down around us.  When that happens be open to the unexpected beauty that will always be there when you need it the most.

A Common Man