There are times when what initially looks like an obstacle or an obstruction isn't that at all. I'd like to share three small stories from my day today.
Story 1
Like many people, sometimes I love Comcast, sometimes I find the company to be aggravating. For the third month in a row I had to call them this morning because of the same billing problem. After going through a million prompts (well, it seemed like a million), I finally got a live person, and just as she was looking into the problem we got disconnected. And so I called the company again, went through the prompts and got disconnected again. (Evidently they have a new phone system that is having challenges.) As you can imagine, at this point I was feeling rather frustrated, and annoyed that this was taking so much time. The third time things finally worked, I got through and asked to speak to their customer solutions department. She apologized, and gave me free dvr for a year. So - what looked and felt like a series of obstacles turned into a pathway for more money in my pocket.
Story 2
I stopped at Chipotle for a burrito bowl for lunch, and put my jacket on a chair to reserve a place in the crowded restaurant while I stood in line. By the time I returned, two young men had moved my jacket and taken my spot. When I pointed that out, they said, sorry, smiled, and didn't move. I looked around, and saw that another space had opened up, closer to the window. So I just said don't worry about it, picked up my jacket and moved - to a better table.
Story 3
I went to the library in Bryn Mawr (which is really beautiful) around 4:45 to pick up some books. The parking lot was very full, but I found a spot toward the back. As I was preparing to turn in, a woman drove up behind me and cut into the spot. I wasn't very happy about this, but circled back through the parking lot before giving up. A much better spot had opened up in the meantime, and I parked.
They're small stories, but often the learnings from small stories have wider implications. And when three things of a similar nature happen to me in one day, I pay attention. So - what did I learn? Sometimes what looks like an obstacle, something getting in the way of what you want, is just a way of opening a path to something better.
With joy,
Cynthia