Pleasant Surprises
The Roaming Gnomes. They travel at night, never staying too long in the same place. If they ever visit you, consider it a good grace!
“Surprise is the greatest gift which life can grant us.” — Boris Pasternak
Action: Live life like a child and have fun, be flexible and create space to enthusiastically give and receive daily surprises.
Have you ever had back to back similar experiences that make you wonder if the universe is trying to tell you something? I recently had this happen to me and I think I've figured out the message.
The Sunday night before Thanksgiving I was sitting in my office, which faces the street. Russell was out of town so it was just me, my Macintosh, and our two cats Chandler and Phoebe. I was diligently working when all of the sudden the door bell rang. The cats bolted from the room like lightning, and I froze. WHO would be ringing my doorbell at 8 p.m.? Is it the kids who walk the neighborhood selling magazines? a neighbor? or a creepy stranger who saw through our windows that I was home alone? I figured it was best not to chance it, so I hit the deck and remained silent for at least two minutes.
Once I felt like my “guest” was no longer there, I remained low to the ground—just in case—and crept to the door. Peaking through the windows I could tell I was safe so I slowly opened the door and looked right and left. Whew! The coast was clear and I felt much better. But then I looked down and, to my surprise, I discovered the “The Roaming Gnomes” and a note.
I must admit, I was still feeling a bit weirded out. All I could think about were episodes of Criminal Minds. Was this a ploy to get me to look down, only then to be hit on the head and dragged away forever?!?!?!?!? I very cautiously bent down to pick up the gnomes and note, and then hurried back inside, quickly locking the door behind me.
The note explained everything—I'd been thrust into a fun game! I was to place the gnomes outside where they were visible and, because they don't like being in one place for too long, I was to relocate them in five days. The relocation process was very specific. I had to take them to their new home (of my choice) between 6 and 9 p.m., place them and the note on the doorstep, ring the doorbell and SCRAM! So, on the Friday after Thanksgiving, Russell and I did just that. He drove the getaway car and I snuck up to the door. We had a blast!
The next evening, around 7:30, we were sitting in the living room when the doorbell rang, again. We both looked at each other, asked if we were expecting anyone, both said no, and continued on with our business. About thirty seconds passed and the door bell rang again. HUMPH! I was now annoyed and I had to answer the door because it was obvious the stranger knew we were home. So I answered our door, but to my surprise it was a very sweet neighbor whom I had not yet met. She kindly introduced herself and explained that she was just being neighborly and delivering us some goodies. She also said she was doing this because she felt bad about not being very neighborly. Russell and I officially felt like jerks. We almost missed out on her random act of kindness.
As a result of our last two pleasant surprises, I've concluded that I may be jaded and socially lazy, which are two titles I never would have given myself in the past. Is it because my brain has been programmed by scary movies, negative news, and television shows to assume the worst? Or is it because my life is so busy and robotic that I don't allow myself the room to be surprised? I feel like it's a combination of two and I feel confident that the universe was trying to tell me to slow down, be more flexible, not be so darn jaded and be more neighborly!
With the magical holiday season upon us it's easy to be more neighborly and be available to give and receive surprises. Let's put aside our cynical adult reactions on a regular basis and think more like children do. Create space in your life for surprises! Be sneaky, leave fun notes and presents for your family, friends, and total strangers. And don't allow a single day go by without trying to show the kind of enthusiasm our favorite elf demonstrates in this week's hysterical video.
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