It's raining. Shit.
I was in complete denial. It would pass, it was just a sprinkle. Just drizzle, just a light shower.
No. It started raining harder.
Paralysed by indecision, and my own hubris, I had to change the plan. Inclement weather meant we cancelled the show. There was no "plan b" indoor option for Romeo and Juliet in the Moat Theatre at La Trobe Uni. But we had an amphitheatre filled with school kids ready to watch Shakespeare.
Cancel, send them home, refund, or reschedule? Or scramble, and re-stage everything inside the hall. We restaged. It was one of our best shows. I dunno if theatre gods were smiling on us, or the adrenalin just amplified everyone's performance, but it lives in my memory like no other run.
What lessons lie in my synapses here? We can't plan for every eventuality. But we can plan to be prepared to act in the moment with what we have, and be creative and curious about finding a way through. Or we can give up. Risk and reward go together like sugar and spice. Choices, consequences, deep breaths, and leaps of faith carry us onwards. Sitting still, watching, and waiting keep us safe. Sometimes. One thing I've learned, is it's never binary, there's always an "and", or a "what else" to consider. And sometimes, you need to plan to change the plan.