'It is what it is'

Ever think about this? Sometimes not getting what we want turns out to be the best thing. Have you ever missed a flight only to hear later that the plane was grounded and didn't reach its destination for hours? Or not gotten a job that you really wanted only to learn that a month later the company folded? Or been delayed in the start of a road trip so that you avoided a bad accident?

Although we all continue to make plans and to hold expectations for what will happen, it's always wise to hold such plans and expectations loosely. Life can change on a dime. And we don't know just what might happen—or what a given experience holds for us.

I have a difficult time with this myself, I will confess. But I am trying to let be what is—and to hold expectations lightly. I can too easily get hooked by my expectations and then feel let down because something didn't turn out the way I'd hoped. But as the above examples show, sometimes not getting what we had hoped can be the best thing.

The saying that's become so popular these days, "It is what it is" speaks well to this. Let something be what it will be. Try to not get too caught up in expectations and in the fine details of what's to come. Accept what is. Be flexible. Go with the flow. Dance between hope and mystery!