Not everyone likes surprises. Me included. It’s not that I dislike the actual surprise, but more the surprising. At its roots I think this aversion to surprises is the subconscious need for control. If you’re anything like me, you like knowing what’s on the horizon.

As humans we sometimes feel small and powerless. Its a great big world out there fraught with danger and the unknown. And the un-knowing can be scary. Because it is, well, unknown. So in response, we try to cover as many of our bases as possible, to manage and control as many aspects of our day-to-day existence as possible.

And this constant life risk management can get really, really tiring.

I’m practically exhausted just thinking about it.

Albert Einstein said, “The most important decision we make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or a hostile universe.”

The. Most. Important. Decision.

My guess is most people slant, particularly these days with the economy and world events as they are, towards a more pessimistic outlook. They see the universe as hostile. This shadowy place that is out to get them, to bring them down.

But what if it is possible to turn that belief around? What if we make a conscious effort to look for the good as often as we remember. Slowly we would adopt a more pleasant outlook. And as the universe began to look more and more friendly, we would fear surprises less and less. Instead, we would start to look forward to them. And the compulsion to control our worlds all the time would start to fade away.

And that is a pleasant thing.

To your good fortune!