Isn’t it ironic?

The song rang through my head as the screen of my iPhone 7 cracked into several lines; all of them connected to one another but traveling in their own direction. I picked up the phone and couldn’t help but smile at my split reflection. For months, I’d been joking about how Apple was going to cut me off into extinction before I got the chance. Now was my chance.

The only problem was that hours earlier I took a spontaneous trip to the dentist because my wisdom tooth decided to scream a little louder than usual that morning. I wasn’t sure which was more painful: the pricey bill or the reality that my tooth needed to come out before it decided to host its own heavy metal screamo concert. Another thing I’d been putting off till ‘the right time’.

I was supposed to have a productive Monday morning, not visiting dentists and phone shops type of productive, more like writing & sipping coffee while chilling with dog productive.

We often ask ourselves: why is everything going wrong today! How come everything bad happens at once (or comes in threes if you want to get superstitious about it) But why do we wait for a screaming signal before we decide to take action? Maybe you’ve been meaning to do the laundry, but it’s not till you run out of socks that the panic kicks in. Or you ought to get that car light fixed, but it’s not till the other one breaks that you call the mechanic.

Yes, it’s possible you are just having an unlucky day where several things happen at once that appear to be nobody’s fault, especially not yours. Like several red lights and heavy traffic on the way to work. Or you take a bad fall and have to rest on a day where you’ve 500 unread emails & 22 voicemails.

How can we stay calm when unplanned situations get in the way of life?

First of all, we can acknowledge that we aren’t victims. Nobody is out to get us. Unlucky things just happen to all of us. The more you victimize yourself and the experience, the more disconnected you will feel from the world. The more resentful you’ll become. It’s good to release emotions but don’t sit and swim in wallowing. If we keep the whole Neville Longbottom ‘why’s it always me’ attitude, it’s likely it’ll continue to always be you. I do believe in the law of attraction: we can attract the energy & beliefs we put out. However, bad things do happen. It’s all about how we perceive them.

Second: What can I learn from this experience? Maybe you decide to enjoy resting and being off work instead of spending the whole time worrying and stressing, wasting more time and energy. Maybe it’s a reminder that health really is your wealth and something we shouldn’t take for granted on the ordinary days!

Yes, life sure can be ironic and surprise us with a big slap across the face. It can be unexpected in the most brutal ways. But the unexpected twists and turns can also be beautiful if you let them. Allow yourself to appreciate the irony and recognize that maybe the path you’ve planned isn’t the one you’re meant to take.

I sit here writing, chilling with dog & sipping coffee, only two days later than initially planned. The difference is that my bank balance is a lot lower, yet I’m smiling about these unexpected events. Maybe they needed to happen for something to write about.

And isn’t it ironic?