We learn to expect the unexpected. erenity and satisfaction come not when we achieve some measure of precarious temporary control, but when we learn to expect the unexpected. They come when we learn the art of responding to change and accommodating the ever-shifting circumstances of our lives. We did not choose the fact that this journey will end in death. Naturally we want to control what we can, and our lives are better when we do so. But the best part of the adventure comes in taking what life brings to us and learning how to make it work. No amount of blaming, criticism, soul-searching, or grumpiness will ever unearth the reasons why changes happen. Our relationship can be corroded by the acid of blame, but it becomes stronger when we join together as a team to cope with the events that shape our lives.

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...to continue to do our best... e cannot ever completely understand life what seems totally bad at first later turns out to have a good side: out of grief comes freedom, out of letting go comes serenity. We do not fully understand these paradoxes, but they give us a taste of life's mystery. Pain brings us out of childhood innocence into adult knowing. Perhaps in our innocence we thought that if we worked hard and did what was right our lives would go well, but along came a random accident, an illness, a serious disagreement that we could not fix. Then, no matter how hard we worked, life seemed painful and in disarray. Out of pain an inner voice called to us and asked us to continue to do our best, to take the risk of reaching for what we honor most, to see our common bond with all who struggle. So we grew to become bigger persons than we could ever have been in our innocence. We exchange our childhood simplicity for a more grown-up acceptance that life is full of mystery, and we learn courage and strength to meet it. Name a problem that brought out the best in you.