What’s Going Right

This past weekend we celebrated our twenty year (technically 21 year) high school reunion. As the “class president” (I put that in quotes because it feels like such an arbitruary thing to share as a 38 year old woman), I am the reunion organizer.

A lot of what goes into event planning is pretty simple. Secure a location. Make decisions about refreshments. Communicate well and often, so guests know the details. Decide how you will create a festive vibe with decor and music. And make sure there is cake. For some reason, it doesn’t feel like a party without cake.

That being said, there was something about this event that was looming over me. It was all organized with minor details to be revisited periodically. Perhaps my anxiety started when our event was set to take place last summer in the heat of Covid and our event had to be cancelled. Determining when to reschedule the event and in what format when the world had been unpredictable at best, was another debacle.

So, every week for the entire year, at some point I would get anxiety over this event. You name it, I worried about it. And because it was weighing on me so heavily, I started to resent the event. I didn’t want to go let alone plan the event. That’s just honest. I’m not proud of of it.

Then, something happened that struck a cord with me. Two weeks prior ot the event, I asked classmates on our Facebook page to share the names of members of our class who had passed away, so we could take a moment to remember and honor them in the days leading up to the reunion.

I thought there would be a couple of names mentioned from our graduating class of over 250 people.

But it was more than a couple. The names kept showing up in the comments. I couldn’t believe it.

And this got me thinking, wow. Think about the number of things that had to go right for the rest of us in order to be here among the living today. So many things had to go right. It’s a miracle that we are still here. It’s a miracle that we can go to events even the ones we don’t want to attend. There’s something really beautiful and good in all of that, and there is much to be grateful for.

This set me on a path to thinking about my day this way. All of the things that had to go right and did. The wifi working for an important Zoom meeting. Traffic moving nicely, so I could be on time. Food being good and not spoiled, so we could enjoy it and not set sick. Hot water for that nice bath at the end of a long day. Our favorite shows recording, so we can watch them at our convenience.

The list goes on.

So much is going right. The universe is handing us good, little moments all day long if we just train our minds to find them.

I’m a better human when I focus on what’s good. I show up better when I see what’s going right. I feel better when I appreciate all of the little moments that worked in my favor. And I feel healthier when I see some of what’s not going my way as preparing me for something better.

Imagine how the world would change if we stopped to notice what’s going right more often.