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The Gift of Surprise
September 3, 2026
I came across this quote today from Brother David Steindl-Rast
“Another name for God is surprise.”
Along with the quote were a few paragraphs by Mark Nepo (a favorite author of mine) that gave the quote such an interesting slant. It seems to me a supportive way to think of times of difficulty…
The Gift of Surprise
Another Name for God is surprise. ~ Brother David Steindli-Rast
While rushing to complete your dearest plans that you tell no one, you can bump into another and groceries will fly and while picking up the ketchup, you might fall in love. Or in your second year of college, while studying what Mommy and Daddy want you to be, you can accidentally open a book on Albert Schweitzer and discover that you feel compelled to go to Africa. Or, understanding geometry, you might decide to become a gardner, finding endless joy in creating landscapes. Or the death of your grandmother might open a side of you that is starving for history. In my case, losing a rib to cancer made me discover the Adam in me.
It seems that any moment of interest or pain or adversity can surprise us into the larger totality of life, breaking our surrender limits and allowing us the chance to redefine ourselves in regard to the larger sense that is upon us. That we are opened—so suddenly, so often—is the way the soul unfolds on Earth.
We can never be prepared for everything. No one person can anticipate all of life. In fact, over preparation is yet another way to wall ourselves in from life. Rather, we can only prepare for how we might respond to the gift of surprise that often moves in on us faster than our reflex to resist.
Life is surprising, thank God, and God—the chance to know Oneness—lives in surprise. For God is seldom in our plans, but always in the unexpected.
Suggestions:
- Center yourself and ask for the strength of spirit to be open to surprise during this phase.
- As you exhale, try to relax your resistance to the unexpected.
- As you inhale, try to make a passage way for everything larger than you.
- Then enter into your day.
~*~*~*~
Following an eclipse season is an especially important time for us to anticipate positive surprise. I love thinking of God—Oneness—in just that way.
May pleasant and even wonderful surprises find us all these days and may we be on hand to support those whose surprises are difficult. That is my prayer.
Sending you loving energy today, as always,
😘 Mayet
Mystics Mayet and Stewart Pearce explore - and sink into - the Stillness in unexpected ways.