• Keep a surprise journal for a week to help yourself notice the many moments of surprise in your everyday life. Be sure to assess what impact these unexpected events have upon you and your way of living.
  • Savor stories about everyday surprises that welcomes everything that happens in life as a gift. Think birthday parties, marriage proposals, victories of underdogs, awards, and winning a contest.
  • The popular phrase "whatever" can signify a casual indifference to what is happening in our lives-a sense that we have been there and done that. Be open to the surprises, aha experiences and epiphanies that break through this apathetic view of reality.
  • In Writing from the Center, Scott Russell Sanders reminds us that surprises can be pleasant or unpleasant but put all together, they signal the light and dark dimensions of a flourishing life: "The trouble is, we cannot banish ugly surprises without banishing lovely ones as well. The unexpected may annoy us, but may also wake us up. If you seal your windows against the odor of skunks and the shriek of sirens, you also miss the lilacs and the finches, the yeasty breath of bakeries and the playground squeal of children." Do you best this week to not exclude anything that shows up in your life. Be thankful for the shriek of sirens and grateful for the beauty of lilacs.