When I was in my early 20s I had a boyfriend who was just one of these lucky people. In the face of unmet expectations, he would always say, “It must be a blessing in disguise!” In the end it always was.
A few years ago, when it was Celine’s 100th show, I was fortunate enough to be in Vegas at the festivities. Although I had been with Marc for a few years at this point, the occasion had never arisen to meet this wonderful boss my boyfriend could only say kind things about. That night when the opportunity presented itself, we no sooner had said, “Pleasure to meet you,” that someone hurried us into a pose for a picture and then she was off to the next paparazzi engagement. I had always been disappointed that I, who believes that "Anytime you can make an authentic human connection you have to go for it!" just didn’t make any kind of connection at all.
This week when Marc’s music career with Celine got put on hold indefinitely and he came home early, I was thrilled to have him home. There are the obvious reasons, of course, but also it meant Marc was free to do a gig with me on Saturday night. I knew the guest speaker for the event was Colonel Chris Hadfield, undoubtedly the most popular astronaut of his generation. When Hadfield was on the space station, we watched his videos. Marc had read his story and said, “This guy is like me. In 1969 when they landed on the moon for the first time, we were watching and we had the same dream. But Marc’s life propelled him into a different star system. So last night, after we were done playing our tunes, we sat in the audience and listened to Chris share a little about his inspiring journey but also about his view of how connected and the same we human being are on this planet. We were honoured to be there. It was a blessing for us to be together in that moment. Then the very talented Mr. Hadfield had Marc join him on stage to play his iconic version of the Bowie classic, Major Tom. And if that wasn’t enough, when he was done, he gave Marc his very very special and cool Space Station pick with his name on it. I’ve got pictures to prove it all happened in real time. It happened because Marc was not in Vegas on stage with Celine.
Originally at this event there were completely different plans. I wanted to be there so I gave my client a bunch of add-ons for free. I really wanted to come home with a picture of me with Colonel Hadfiled; my kids would be so impressed, I thought. In the end, I did not get a picture of myself with Chris. What I did get instead was a kiss on the cheek, a bit of conversation and an moment of authentic human connection that would not have come if I had been focussed on the selfie. The memory of that moment, that exchange, is the blessing I'll keep from what was a most lovely evening.
Opportunities can happen at anytime. Be careful about what you focus on. You might discover that with your unmet expectation, a golden opportunity is bundled up like the hidden blessings that it is.
Namaste!
Bianca
This personal blog was written by Bianca Pittoors. You may “share” it in its entirety. I respectfully request that you respect it as the intellectual property that it is. Thank you!