Last spring I was walking in a park.
A short distance ahead of me was a mom
and her three-year-old daughter.
The little girl was holding on to a string
that was attached to a helium balloon. 
All of a sudden, a sharp gust of wind
took the balloon from the little girl.
I braced myself for some screaming and crying.
But, no! As the little girl turned
to watch her balloon go skyward,
she gleefully shouted out, "Wow!"
I didn't realize it at that moment, but
that little girl taught me something.
Later that day,
I received a phone call from a person
with news of an unexpected problem.
I felt like responding with
"Oh no, what should we do?"
But remembering that little girl,
I found myself saying,
"Wow, that's interesting!
How can I help you?"
One thing's for sure -
life's always going to keep us off
balance with its unexpected problems.
That's a given. What's not preordained
is our response. We can choose
to be frustrated or fascinated.
No matter what the situation,
a fascinated "Wow!"
will always beat a frustrated "Oh, no."
So the next time you experience
one of life's unexpected gusts,
remember that little girl and
make it a "Wow!" experience.
The "Wow!" response always works.
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