Thursday, April 10, 2014

Detachment and Serendipity

I enjoy the small lessons in life. This week I attended the Conference on World Affairs at the University of Colorado. I learned a great deal on a wide variety of topics, but one small lesson occurred along the way.

Last year when I attended the keynote address, I got in line because I wanted to have a seat in Macky Auditorium. By the time I got in the building, I ended up in the third level, top balcony. This year there were two long lines waiting to get into the two doors of the auditorium. I decided I would take a walk and join the back of a line once it started moving, figuring worst case I could always sit outside if the auditorium had filled and listen to the presentation that would be broadcasted through a loudspeaker.

So I joined the end of one of the lines, had a nice conversation with the people in front of me as we slowly wended our way to the auditorium. Once inside, an attendant announced that all the seats were taken in the balconies, but there were seats in the front of the auditorium that had been reserved for other speakers but were not being used. Consequently, I got a seat in the third row, right by the stage.

New philosophy: don’t sweat the small stuff, stay detached, and sometimes pleasant surprises occur.

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