How to Have a Year of Surprises!

A no-fail technique for an endless stream of surprises

Bananas grew at Evergreen for the first time this year. We've been waiting for eight years so it was a delightful surprise!

Be prepared to be surprised.

Expect surprises.

This may seem counter-intuitive, or nonsense, because the word surprise implies it’s something unexpected.

But if you’re not alert enough to notice surprises you’ll never be surprised!

Surprises are delightful things. They’re the opposite of a shock.

You don’t have to do anything to get a surprise.

You can’t order one.

They’re free, they pop up any time, and they require nothing from you except wonder.

If you follow up your wonder with gratitude, then you’re on your way to a Surprise Binge because the more appreciative you are about the surprises you experience, the more surprises you will get.

Surprises will almost overwhelm you with their (shocking) regularity.

It’s a fun exercise to write down surprises you can recall happening last year, as a way of setting yourself up for a lot more this year.

Surprises I Had Last Year

A dental procedure cost less than I expected. Surprise!

I found a bank card, which I’d given up as lost in the bush near Mukinbudin, nestling deep in my trouser pocket when I got home. Surprise!

A new recipe I followed for chocolate brownies that involved pulped red kidney beans was a hit at the Garden Club get-together. Surprise! (Hint: I didn’t tell them about the beans.)

I spotted two highly secretive Buff-banded Rail chicks dashing through the garden at Evergreen. Surprise!

Our banana palms, which have been growing big and burly for eight years and from which we’d ceased to expect fruit, suddenly grew flowers and produced enough bananas to satisfy the world demand for banoffee pie. Surprise!

A close-up of the bananas. This was going to be a photo of a banoffee pie, but I haven't made it yet. I'm waiting for these little green wonders to ripen!

How to Have a Year of Surprises

If you want 2026 to be a year of delightful surprises, this is the formula:

Step 1: Pay attention (so you notice the surprise).

Step 2: Spend time in total wonder (this makes the surprise last longer than a few seconds).

Step 3: Feel and express gratitude. Say it out loud, for example, Thank you, pulped red kidney beans, for turning into a plate of delicious chocolate brownies.

Want a year of surprises?

It’s simple.

Be ready to be surprised at any moment.

If you're feeling depressed, go for a walk and look about you, ready to be surprised, and you will be. Your depression may get surprised too, and it may cheer up a little.

So, don't forget the three simple steps for A Year of Surprises:

Attention; Wonder; Gratitude.

In that order.

With love, Marlane