Oh, the gift of surprise.

Plant a seed. So small you can barely pick it up between thumb and forefinger. The seed roots into an orange packed vitamin powerhouse, anti-cancer, anti-oxidant, better seeing, better beating heart, garden of good stuff.

Surprise! It tastes good too, that sweet snap bite to the tooth.

Explore an unfamiliar gallery. Discover a painting or sculpture that stops you, turns your head, lifts you to laughter or rips you to tears. Joyfully or humbly, shake hands with the artist. Look her in the eyes.

Surprise! There's something there you recognize.

Go ahead. Stop the car, get out, walk in, sit down and eat. Take a chance on the dumpy little diner with the painted on glass, "Breakfast Two Bucks". So what! You're on Main Street, on the sunny side of a town square, a quiet, dusty little town square, you just found, taking a right when your wife said, turn left. 

Surprise! Your wife was right but now she's digging deeply into Juevos Rancheros and hot, fresh, hand-slapped corn tortillas, maybe, almost pleased you took the wrong turn, Mr. Stubborn.

Knock on the door of a neighbor you don't know. Go ahead. Smile. My name? Nice to meet you too. Just wanted to say hey, anything you need, just ask. Which house? Over there, the one on the corner with the picket fence and frustrated Blue Healer. Don't worry. He's barking so you'll pet him.

Surprise! One morning there's a bushel filled basket of summer vegetables dripping with dew on your stoop and dog didn't even bark.

Judge someone wrongly. It won't be the first time and it won't be the last.

Surprise! Joy can sometimes humbly be found in not being right, wrongly not seeing.

Judge a book by its cover and plan to be surprised.