Expect the Unexpected

I told my granddaughter, Katie, that,  during my brief, unexpected, unforeseen, unwanted, and unwelcome sojourn in the hospital, I had come up with this great original title for my next blog: “Expect the Unexpected.”  I wasn’t surprised, however, to discover that the phrase has been used before and many, many times before.  Heraclitus used it in 500 B.C.!  There are several hundred videos on YouTube using the phrase as well.  So much for an original title and/or thought!  Expect the unexpected—expect (unbelievable as it may seem to you) that your “original thoughts” were probably “thought” by somebody else long before the idea or thought ever dawned on you. 

Expect the unexpected.  Don’t be surprised by anything, for anything can happen, and probably will happen. “I didn’t see that coming!” is our normal response when the unexpected comes.  Life tumbles in on all of us and it usually tumbles in when least expected.  If you expect the unexpected, you may be better prepared to handle it when it happens.  To expect the unexpected is to recognize that we are not in control and that much of life (those unexpected things) are out of our control and will happen.  We call the unexpected a surprise; sometimes we may call it fate, but whatever we call it—the unexpected happens!  You can expect it to do so!

The unexpected comes as an unwelcome event, surprise, or experience that frustrates us precisely because it forces us to face our inability to control reality, and our vulnerableness and fragility as human beings.  Expect the unexpected.  Learn from it, grow with it, and accept the fact that you can’t always see what’s coming—but you can be sure it will come in some way or another!  Expect the unexpected.  

Delphi, Greece