uncertain circumstances

 I was flying back to Austria a few years ago after spending some time in the US. I had a long and complex flight schedule with tight layovers, but with luck and good weather I figured I could easily get all my flights and arrive home in time to get to an event I had been looking very forward to attending. 

I reached London late after a bumpy ride from New York and had about 30 minutes to catch my connecting flight to Vienna. I made a wild dash from one terminal to the next to get to my gate - I didn’t even stop to shop.

I got there just in time, congratulating myself on my ability to dodge elderly English couples with sensible shoes and too much luggage. 

I walked over to the gate, ticket in hand, and joined the line behind a successful looking guy with a laptop and 3 or 4 newspapers under his arm. We hadn’t waited more than 5 minutes when the stewardess came out, switched the PA system on and shocked the masses. “I’m sorry. The flight to Vienna has been canceled. The next flight leaves in 5 hours.” 

After a brief moment of disbelief, a black cloud formed over the crowd. They became loud and angry and started yelling at that poor lady in red. Some of them really got worked up; they were missing connecting flights, they were losing time. They had places to go, people to meet and things to do. None of them was really in the mood to wait 5 hours for the next flight to Vienna. How could this happen? 

In the midst of all that chaos, the guy with the newspapers tucked under his arm sort of laughed and looked over at me. “Wonderful. Just enough time to see a bit of London.” He gathered his overcoat, dumped his newspapers onto one of the empty seats and headed out to catch a taxi. 

As I watched him go I realized that he was right. None of us could change the fact that the flight was canceled. None of us could change the fact that we were going to be late and miss our connecting flights. There was no changing what had happened. Most people were running around getting their blood pressure up, yelling at the stewardess and each other, looking for someone to blame. But not this guy. He was going to enjoy an unexpected afternoon in London. 

I didn’t go sightseeing in London that afternoon, but I did buy a good novel, drink an interesting cup of coffee and have a nap on my suitcase. I missed the event I had been looking forward to, but learned an important lesson that day. We can’t always change what happens to us, but we can always change how we respond to it. 

They can cancel your flight, but they can’t cancel your day. You do that yourself. 

Happy sightseeing!