When nothing turns out the way you expected. . .

During a recent car ride, the radio station played a song by Gordon Lightfoot. The musical prompt from my teenage years reminded me of going to see him perform live at the Shakespearean Festival building in Stratford (Canada) in the late 70’s.

My friends and I had saved our money and were excited to be going to the concert. Imagine our disappointment when only a short time into the performance a powerful thunderstorm knocked out all the power to the venue. Gordon was a folk singer, and this wasn’t necessarily a huge stage production but nevertheless he and his band definitely had the support of electrically powered amplifiers, speakers, and other equipment. Not to mention lights. After all, we were all sitting in the dark!

Imagine our surprise and delight when he came onto the stage with candles as we sat waiting to be sent home and pronounced, ‘I’ve always wanted to perform Shakespeare’ (or words to that effect), picked up his guitar and began to sing. Thanks to the amazing acoustics of the in-the-round, Shakespearean stage, his voice seemed to carry effortlessly throughout the theater. Since that time, I have been to many more elaborate productions and seen arguably more famous musicians but that night sticks in mind.

What I remember is not the music.

What I remember is that Lightfoot turned what appeared to be an impossible obstacle into an opportunity to give his fans a unique and unforgettable experience.

That makes me think about how I handle unexpected situations. Do I look at them as the end or the beginning of possibility? If it’s the later, doors I didn’t even know were there open up in front of me creating prospects for new experiences and opportunities.

I’m resolved to remind myself of this the next time, things don’t go my way. How about you?