The unexpected shatters us into awareness of what is.
Recently I walked into a meeting I attend regularly. When I walk in I know just what to expect, a quiet room, with a circle of chairs and people that I know.
This time was different.
There were two guys I did not know having an animated conversation. Immediately, I was off balance, questioning myself, “Was there something else going on? Who are these people? What are they doing here? Was the meeting cancelled?”
When I walked into the room, I noticed the circle of chairs. “Okay, I thought. I’m in the right place” but the circle was arranged slightly differently. I noticed my discomfort. As I settled in I reflected on how much I preferred this setup.
Familiar people took their seats around me. We sat in silence as usual, “ah, this feels right,” I reassured myself. And then the silence was broken. Not in the way I was used to, where someone offers gentle words of wisdom. This time an energetic voice tore apart the silence demanding attention. The words that were read made no sense and they were meant not to make sense. My brain was whirling to make meaning. I was confronted again with the unexpected and again I was off balance.
My routine interrupted
As I settled back into silence again, my mind whirled, I reflected on the importance of having my routine, my comfort interrupted. I was reminded to notice what I had become comfortable with and challenged to consider something different.
Having my comfortable routine interrupted offered:
- the gift of awareness of the comfort I find in my routine
- an invitation to reflect on how the routine served me
- an opportunity to notice my judgments when things are not as expected
- an invitation to change my perspectives and ways of thinking
- an opening for me to try new actions and behaviours
- the choice to make a change
When have you had your comfortable routine interrupted? What did you learn from the interruption?
Notice when life interrupts you, inviting you to change.
Alison
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