I’ve not always been great at rolling with the punches. Let’s just say I’m pretty Type A, and I enjoy having a plan. Being more ‘go with the flow’ has been an ever-evolving level of self awareness, that I have been working on improving.

During this summer of living slowly, stepping away from social media, and returning back to the present moment, it has been easier to just roll with it and to focus on the gratefuls and see the good. Maybe it’s lower cortisol and less stress, but I think it also has to do with more time spent in faith, in thought, in prayer.

It can be so easy to say “see the good” and “look at the bright side,” or to wear a t-shirt with a positive saying or a wall art with a positive mantra. Yes that helps, but it is in the current moment that it needs to be practiced.

We often forget that SEE the good and LOOK at the bright side are verbs, not just nice sayings.

It’s in time of stress and chaos, uncertainty, a change of plans, that we must practice what we preach.

Here’s a small example, but will hopefully help drive this point home:

We were recently heading out on a trip.

Side rant: I’ll be honest… I don’t know why travel is glamorized so much. I feel like I dried up shrimp after I get off an airplane, public transportation can be so chaotic with flight delays, stress, attitudes, etc. Travel is one of those times where I will say it is about the destination, not the journey.

Anyway, our first flight was delayed when we were ready to board. We had a layover and another flight to catch afterwards, and that second flight only takes off once a day. One red eye, one opportunity, one shot, once in a lifetime (sorry I had to).

As the delay kept increasing, our changes of getting on flight two kept decreasing….

We talked to the gate agents and they said there was hope for our second flight to be delayed, but let’s be real… did we really want to take that chance and if we didn’t make it, spend an entire day in Newark, New Jersey?

So, we made the decision to push our entire trip by one day. After five hours spent in the airport, we got in our car and drove home for another night.

Now, I could have looked at this from a negative. I wasted money on a hotel room we would not get to use, I spent hours at the airport, etc.

…but I chose to see it from a positive, and later learned it was a blessing in disguise.

The first day when we finally got there, the weather was pretty crappy. It rained, it was overcast and windy, but the rest of the trip brought gorgeous days.

If we got there earlier, maybe it would have been crappy the day before and we would have gotten to enjoy fewer nice days.

Moral of the story: Life has a way of working things out, even when we can’t see the full picture.

Instead of asking, “Why is this happening to me?”

Try asking, “How could this be happening for me?”

You might not have the answer today, you might not have it next week, but one day you’ll look back and realize the detour became the destination.

Growth usually doesn’t happen when everything is comfortable.

This is your reminder to keep building a life that trusts the process, even when you can’t see where it’s leading.