Leave Room for Serendipity
I had a ridiculous week of travel just before the holidays.
In eight days, I facilitated meetings in six different cities: Newark, Nashville, Charlotte, Denver, Burlington, and back to Newark.
In total, it included eight half-day retreats and trips in and out of Boston, all in one week.
I know, it’s crazy to schedule an actual week like that. But a number of organizations wanted to fit their important gatherings in just before the holidays. And I was excited about it. I was looking forward to seeing team members and clients I would get to work with. And I knew I had an extended break and vacation over the holidays, so I knew I’d have a breather coming up.
So, I was good with it.
How did it go?
Miraculously, the 10 flights, 6 hotel nights, and numerous rental cars and Ubers went smoothly. I missed one connection, so I had to stay an unplanned night in Detroit. But in the end, I was where I needed to be the entire week.
I definitely had to leave room for serendipity, though.
Almost had to expect it.
I believe the universe is sending us messages all the time. The universe—and/or a higher power—conspires to support us. We just have to stay open to these moments and recognize them as the quantum flirts that they are.
This is how we know how truly supported we are.
There was a random stranger at DTW who came back down the sidewalk to tell me that my hotel shuttle was there when I couldn’t see it parked behind other vans.
There was a front desk worker who found a working hair dryer at 6:00 am when mine was broken, and maintenance person who brought it to me.
There was a random guy on a packed hotel van who insisted on standing so I could sit down.
There was a limo driver who at 2:00 am drove back to where he had dropped me off 10 minutes before—where I sat stressed while defrosting my car—and returned my phone, which I realized I had left in the backseat of his car.
There was a flight attendant on an escalator who helped me grab my roller bag when it started falling backwards on me.
There was an Enterprise Rental Car staffer who climbed on two different terminal buses before departure to find the person who left their Ray-Bans in the rental car (me).
Clearly, I was in perpetual motion the whole trip. And as I typically do, I left a few things behind because I was moving so fast.
I’m not sure how, but I had a peaceful mindset about all of it. And the universe supported me in the form of many people showing random acts of kindness when I needed them.
And I showed a few for others, too.
I held elevator doors for people running to them. I let other people cut in front of me in line. A team member and I wore the organization’s new sweatshirts to a meeting to surprise them. I smiled at flight attendants and told them to have a good day, too. Colleagues and I showed up in the most enthusiastic and relaxed ways that we could in those meetings.
Even in the exhausted, overstimulated moments, I focused on being in the joy of the week and being at peace.
In retrospect, I believe that if I had gone into that week more focused on the stress or the craziness of that trip or all the meetings I had to facilitate, it would not have been fun. I might have gotten sick. Or missed flights. Or had conflict or worse to deal with.
Where in your life could you expect the best and see what comes of it?
Where might you leave more room for serendipity in your life?
Where might you benefit from more people showing up to support you and making your path easier?
And how might you show random acts of kindness in those moments of perpetual motion?
I did a New Year’s ride one morning recently on my Peloton. The instructor said, “The world doesn’t need the polished, perfect you. It needs the brilliantly messy glory of you.”
Yes!
Show up.
Forget stuff.
Travel at high speed now then and take on more than you should.
But whatever you do, embrace the delicious mess.
The world is ready and waiting for you.
It will send people to support you along the way.
Have a comment? Please share on social media or contact Kellie here.