When our family gets together we have odd discussions. Although, the more I live, the more I realize that every family has odd discussions in their own way. It’s a slight different variation of Tolstoy’s idea of happy and unhappy families, yet the point is that the way families interact are sometimes similar.

Over the holidays we were all enjoying a delicious cheesecake made by our son. As we ate, we started wondering-what exactly is cream cheese? Which then led to a discussion of how does one make any type of cheese? Which generated a discussion of rennet and what the heck was that? [Rennet: curdled milk from the stomach of an unweaned cow. It contains multiple enzymes which aid in the process of curdling the casein (main protein) in milk.]

As we all remarked and wondered- how did this first happen? Who “discovered” the process and more perplexing- who was brave enough to eat it? Perhaps many, many years ago in slaughtering a young cow, it was noticed that part of its stomach (there are four stomachs and this “rennet” is found in the third chamber) had a “curdled” type of milk? Or did some of the contents accidentally drop into a bucket of milk and then it was noticed that the consistency changed? Was it just by accident that the curdling and rennet were discovered? Certainly that discovery has changed the way people eat.

So many processes, inventions or ideas that were happy “accidents”: fluky things that happened which totally changed an outcome. Or what was originally planned was not the final outcome. New ideas developing from planned ideas not going quite as planned. It reminds me to not hold too tightly my plans, ideas or schedules.

A new year always brings about a demarcation: time to think of what went on in the past year and what ideas or plans for the future one. New Year’s is a time to reflect on those things: what to discard or to keep and what ideas or thoughts to investigate in the coming year. Many people like the one word idea of “resolutions”: one word to describe either how they will behave, think or react in the new year. The cream cheese makes me think of two words: happy accident.

I am reminded that if we look for it, we can discover new possibilities. I know that it is so easy for me to be so focused on what I have planned and ensuring that things go according to plan that I can miss seeing the beauty of something new and different.

Certainly with this ongoing house remodeling I have been a witness to many a happy accident. Much of the project has not gone according to plan. But, when all is said and done (and we hope that will occur before next new year!) what will be accomplished is more (and better) than we originally planned. I am always reminded of a dear friend who said many times the projects that she was involved in would have some type of snafu. But, the remodeled-change-in plans was almost always better than what was imagined.

What about you? Have you ever stumbled upon something that was better than originally planned? Or you discovered something completely unintentionally?

So for this coming year, I am re-thinking the planning mode in my new year’s goal. Trying to be a little less anxious over controlling outcomes and more present and aware of each day as it unfolds. Whatever will happen, will happen and to let it be.

For who knows what happy accident is just around the corner?