GLAD SURPRISES

When unexpected news comes as a gift or a blessing, I wonder, why me?   I can document a series of unexpected, glad surprises that began early my life and continue without any great effort on my part.  I am grateful for each and all of those and most of the time I have an optimistic, enthusiastic attitude like a child who can’t wait to see what’s next. Fast forward.

My most recent glad surprises were two visits to two different docs, a cardiologist (treating progressive heart disease) and a pulmonologist (for occluded bronchial tubes).  While I have issues in both areas, both are moderate, not severe, and both are treatable even if not curable.  Life is good and better than I expected at this stage, a glad surprise.

When I receive a letter or a phone call from family or friends sharing good news, that’s a double glad surprise, first for them and second, for me. Our first great-grandchild was born 3 months ago. You might remember this advertising slogan “Double your pleasure, double your fun, with Doublemint, Doublemint, chewing gum!”  Wrigley Spearmint figured if people liked their product that if they could double the flavor they might be able to increase sales significantly.  Doublemint was introduced in 1914, the “Double Your Pleasure” ad that became iconic was introduced in 1959.  Those of us who buy chewing gum like the little “glad surprise” of good taste and quality that have endured.  When a product performs as promised that is a glad surprise because too many times a product or service fails to live up to expectations.  When someone or something exceeds my expectations, that is a glad surprise.

When I wrote the previous blog/post, “Surprises” that was mostly about sad surprises, I promised to write one about glad surprises.  Glad surprises come in all shapes and forms, most often unexpected, on no observable timetable.

We can observe and experience a host of frequent, small glad surprises.  What about the big ones?  I’m not talking about winning the lottery although that would be a glad surprise as the odds are not favorable.  How about getting to Yes in a relationship, or finishing a project under budget and ahead of schedule?  What about a planned trip being completed without any challenges, glitches or delays?  What can you point to as glad surprises in your life and how long do you celebrate and cherish those?

As I was thinking about this topic I wondered why we seem to pay more attention to bad news that’s negative rather than good news that’s positive?   Apparently, human beings are neurologically or physiologically predisposed toward focusing on negative information because the potential costs of negative information far outweigh the potential benefits of positive information. The costs include the toll it takes on the human psyche. It also appears to be true that bad news sells better than good news.  Small wonder that 90% of the “news “is negative.  Wouldn’t it be a glad surprise to see more good news reported and shared?

When I read a book or a poem or a post that lifts my Spirit and feeds my Soul, that is a glad surprise.  When I see a painting or a landscape or a photo that delights my Senses, that is a glad surprise.  When I am struck by awe immersed in Nature, blessed by the sun, the moon, the stars, the forests and oceans, it’s an unearned gift, a moment and more of Grace.  When I hear music that fills me with pleasure and joy, another glad surprise.  I treasure these experiences and I do not take them for granted.

I did a little experiment last week knowing I had given myself this glad surprise assignment, not a big deal but fun, nonetheless.  I told the barista in a local coffee shop I wanted to pay for the next 5 coffees or teas anonymously, regardless what size.  I gave her more than enough and said that as a co-conspirator, she could keep what was left as a tip.  I retreated to an inconspicuous corner of the room where I could watch the reactions of the next five patrons.  The barista made 6 participants because she was surprised by my offer.

Within a few minutes, the first person ordered and the barista said it was already paid for and she owed nothing.  I heard her say, “Whaaaat?  Who paid?”  The barista said, per my instructions, that it was a stranger whom she didn’t know.  # 1 said “Thank you very much.”    The next two people were together and I could not hear what they said to the barista, but the look on their faces expressed surprise and they turned to talk to each other, one saying, “I wonder who did that and why?”    The 4^th person gave the barista a good tip perhaps thinking it was the coffee shop offering the gift.  The 5^th person was a teen-ager and being told his coffee was paid for, he said, “No way!  Are you serious?”   The barista said,  “Yes, enjoy the gift.”  The kid shook his head and walked to the next counter to wait for his coffee.  What did I take away from this little experiment?  It’s easy to pay it forward and give someone a glad surprise.  Maybe one or more of them will like it enough to do it themselves some other day or in another way.  It’s one small way we can pass on a little glad surprise to brighten someone’s day.

If you like these posts you can become a subscriber on Substack, always free, and if you want to offer something in return, consider anonymously buying someone a cup of coffee or tea. Maybe we can start a different kind of epidemic.