Surprise!

[From Peter Thompson, TGI Monday, June 1, 2015]

“It’s 5:53 am.

The sun is just rising over the eastern horizon having already done so for the Levantine countries about an hour before.  [Peter lives in England.]

            Mind you … I did expect it to rise this morning.

Last night the sun set at 8:37 pm – and I watched it finally dip below the skyline after a pink and orange display.

            Mind you… I did expect it to set last night.

So, you and I are not surprised when the expected happens, which is as it should be.

But why is it that so many are?

We can look into the future and see that we’ll need new tyres on the car. [After all – we will have been driving the car for thousands of miles over the years!]

We can fairly estimate that next year we’ll want a holiday and probably we’ll have to pay for it.

The kids are going to want to go to college … retirement looms … rent comes due … bills and creditors need to be paid … the grass needs to be cut … income tax returns need to be filed … that crack in the sidewalk will eventually need to be fixed … projects come due … processes need perfecting … continuing education is waiting to be engaged … hardware and software need to be upgraded …   

By and large… We know what the future is likely to bring.

Why then do so many deal with the reality of impending future as if it wasn’t real?

The future is just around the corner.

BAM!  Look! There it is.

You know – I think I’ll take a moment and consider what I might need to do to be ready for it.

Well lookee here…
            That sun’s done gone and set again – all by itself. I never saw that coming… 

You will get ready for whatever’s coming down the pike, won’t you?   Go on, then!” 

Peter Thompson