To be prepared against surprise is to be trained. To be prepared for surprise is to be educated.*
James Carse

We have unlearned the patience and attention of lingering at the thresholds where the unknown awaits us.**
John O’Donohue

Lingering, attention, and
patience are necessary for surprise;
Consider their opposites, all possible ways
to train against surprise:
Hurry, distraction, disinclination –
These should do it.

However, as people who linger and
pay attention and
are patient, we are
able to let go and let come –
I-in-Now people, able to bring
curiosity and
interest and
learning and
playfulness and
imagination and
creativity and
making to our discoveries;
We may even become a
surprise to others.

*James Carse’s Finite and Infinite Games;
**John O’Donohue’s Divine Beauty.