The Mountain of Enlightenment

Last spring, I was walking in a park. A short distance ahead of me was a mom and her three- year-old daughter. The little girl was holding on to a string that was attached to a helium balloon. All of a sudden, a sharp gust of wind took the balloon from the little girl. I braced myself for some screaming and crying. But, no! As the little girl turned to watch her balloon go skyward, she gleefully shouted out, "Wow!" There is no doubt that the little girl was extremely happy to hold the balloon. However, when she lost her grip over the string, she was equally happy to see it fly!

I didn't realize it at that moment, but that little girl taught me something so important... Later that day, I received a phone call from a person with news of an unexpected problem. I felt like responding with "Oh no, that's awful." But remembering that little girl, I found myself saying, "Wow, that's interesting! How can I help you?" One thing's for sure life's always going to keep us off balance with its unexpected problems. That's a given. What's not preordained is our response. We can choose to be frustrated or fascinated No matter what the situation, a fascinated "Wow!" will always beat a frustrated "Oh, no!" At times situations that throw us off mark or are unexpected need not make us hold on tightly to something. Maybe they were meant to make us fly! And hence every moment is a Wow moment!