As I started my message this past Sunday at Soul Center the entire room erupted in a big belly laugh that went on for a good thirty seconds. I barely spoke the first three sentences of my message when Siri spoke suddenly and loudly from someone’s phone: I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you are saying. It was quite a moment. It was funny. I mean it was a perfectly hilarious moment. I’ll bet no one who was there will forget it…maybe ever.
I could have reacted in a few different ways. I could have been irritated by the interruption and reminded folks to turn off or silence their cell phones. I could have tried to quiet the crowd before they finished their laughter. I could have stepped off the stage unable to find my center in all of it. I could have taken it personally. I could have laughed right along (I mean it was funny) and had a moment before finding my place and beginning again. Gratefully, I chose the last option.
There have been times in my life, many times, when I would not have made that choice. I would have resisted the moment. I would have tried to control it and make it something it was not. It was so much easier to just have the experience with everyone else and then go from there.
It is a great reminder for how to deal with the unexpected moments in life. The unexpected happens. Wisdom is not resisting it. It is being in the moment, having the experience, resetting, and then starting again.
Thank you, Siri for speaking up at the perfect moment. Maybe by the end of the message you understood what I was saying.
Lighter.
Paula
ps. Becky told me after the service that as I started speaking on Sunday she wanted to take my picture. So she whispered to Siri to find her camera. Siri’s response: I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you are saying.
